Silent High
by Istoria
Summary: COMPLETE 080505 A bit of the Silent Hill series mixed in with Naruto. Trapped in an illusion whose rules are unknown, they struggle to find answers before darkness consumes them.
1. School Room Normal

"HARUNO!"

Sakura jumped up only to find her legs were trapped under something. Blinking furiously, she tried to regain her bearings. She looked around, taking in the neatly arranged rows of desks and the giggles of people who looked the same age as her. Some of them looked vaguely familiar but none of them seemed real.

"Haruno, would you like continue staring blankly at your desk or can you answer my question?"

Sakura looked up at the voice and her eyebrows scrunched. "Kurenai-sensei?" Kurenai let out an exasperated sigh, shaking her head at Sakura's reaction. "Where…" she started.

"Page 201…" a voice hissed next to her.

Sakura turned to her left, confusion dotting her face. "Ino-chan?" she asked tentatively, looking over the blond girl sitting next to her. Ino looked back with a disapproving look and pointed at the page.

Sakura looked down at the book but there was only jumbled text on the page. She put a hand to her head and tried to sort things through. She was in a school setting but she had graduated from the academy years ago. What was she doing here?

"Never mind Haruno," Kurenai stated. "It's just another demerit for you. You have detention now."

Sakura stared at her with surprise. Detention? What was she talking about?

"Nara, get up and read."

Sakura heard someone shuffle behind her and recognized the voice of Shikamaru. It lacked the usual lazy quality. She spared a glance to see if it was him and was met with a surprise. Shikamaru was wearing a neatly pressed blue suit, red tie included. His hair was neatly arranged and out of its normal ponytail.

"You are not wrong, who deem, that my days have been a dream," Shikamaru continued reading out of the book in hand. "Yet if hope has flown away, in a night, or in a day, in a vision, or in none, is it therefore the less gone?"

Sakura looked down at her own attire, finding it almost identical to Ino's. A short plaid blue skirt with a white button down shirt and a pair of loafers. Her hair was pulled back, placed into a tight bun. She gingerly lifted up the books on her desk and found they were marked all with the same logo. A fox curled up in front of roaring fire.

"All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream."

A bell sounded three times and the people around her started to shuffle and leave. Sakura looked up at Ino who was shaking her head.

"Really, Sakura-chan," Ino said, "if you don't pay attention in class you will fail out. You have to be more careful."

"With your detention, we'll have to reschedule our tutoring session now," Shikamaru said. "You know how busy I am, can't you be more responsible?"

Sakura blinked and looked at both of them. Were they insane? Shikamaru was acting completely opposite how he normally did. And Ino….

"It's okay, I don't mind helping Sakura-chan with her homework," Ino interrupted. "That's what best friends are for."

Ino was completely off her rocker.

"Ummm, one question," Sakura started slowly, trying to gauge their reactions. "Do either of you feel… weird?"

Shikamaru looked at her oddly and Ino let out a nervous giggle. "What are you talking about, weird?" Ino smiled. "You're the weird one today."

Shikamaru continued to stare at her and then shook his head. "I think Ino's right. Let go get lunch, maybe your blood sugar is low again."

Sakura nodded slowly and followed them, trying not to cry. Everything was so confusing. She felt like she didn't belong here, in fact she was certain she didn't. But everyone around her was acting like everything was normal. What happened to her?

She followed them into the hall and caught sight of the huge crowd moving through the building. In its center was Naruto and for a moment, Sakura's heart caught in her throat. He looked back at her with wide blue eyes that looked as confused as she was. Quickly, she made a few hand signals and he nodded in response just as the crowd pulled him away.

He had understood her. That meant that he was a part of this. She needed to talk to him.

"I… ummm… need to go talk to Naruto," she said to the two next to her. They looked at her for a moment and started laughing.

"You? Talk to the most popular senior in school?" Ino asked. "No offense, sweetie, we like you but you don't have the social standing to just walk up to the Uzumaki Naruto and talk to him."

"She's right," Shikamaru shrugged. "You know how the system is." Sakura didn't but she nodded to keep appearances normal.

"Besides, what do you want to talk him about?" Ino asked.

Sakura shook her head and shrugged. "Nothing really."

Ino walked forward and put a hand on Sakura's forehead. Instinctively, Sakura flinched, preparing for an insult but instead she was met with concern. "I think you must be falling sick. That would explain things."

Sakura was sure that would explain a lot of things. Maybe that's what this was. Some fever induced dream. And soon she would wake up and her parents would be there to chastise her for not taking better care of herself. Then she would go and meet up for ramen with Naruto and Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke… Sasuke! Maybe he was trapped here too.

She should ask them about his whereabouts but after their reaction to Naruto, she wasn't sure if that was wise.

"Sasuke-kun!" Ino cried suddenly and she was gone in a flash.

Sakura turned around just in time to see the blond wrap herself around Sasuke and plant a firm kiss on his lips. Sasuke didn't push her away and for a moment, Sakura doubted that he wasn't a part of this.

"What's the matter?" Ino said, detaching herself. "That usually brings a smile to your face everything."

Sasuke looked at her and let his lips turn up a bit. "Sorry, a lot on my mind." He looked up at Sakura and flashed her a few hand signals. She nodded firmly and he turned back to Ino. "I need to talk to Sakura for a moment."

Ino sighed. "Not about that stupid science project again. I swear, if I didn't love you so much and trust my dear best friend as much as I do, I'd think you two were having an affair behind my back."

Sakura froze but Sasuke shook his head as if to say she was crazy. Ino giggled and kissed him quickly on the cheek, skipping back to Shikamaru. "Come on, Shika-kun. Let's let them do their boring work."Shikamaru nodded slowly but watched them the entire time as Ino dragged him away.

As soon as they were gone, Sakura turned back to Sasuke, hope starting to filter back into her. But he looked at her coldly before snapping out a few terse words.

"What did you buy at the store last October?"

Sakura looked at him, perplexed until she understood what he was asking. "Three pumpkins but no pie crust."

"They always do make better lanterns," Sasuke replied, finishing the code phrase.

"Sasuke-kun, you're not part of this either," she said with relief.

"No, though what this is… I have no idea," he replied. "What happened to you?"

Sakura shook her head. "I woke up and suddenly I was in this classroom. Iruka-sensei was teaching it but… we graduated the academy already, right?"

"This isn't the academy," Sasuke replied. "It's someplace else. I'm not sure it's even real."

"A genjutsu?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke shrugged. "If it is, I can't feel anything."

Sakura closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to find the source of any foreign chakra. Instead, she felt nothing.

"I don't feel anything," she whispered, opening her eyes.

"Exactly."

"No… Sasuke-kun… I don't feel any chakra. Not even my own."

Sasuke frowned. He closed his eyes and Sakura knew from his stance that he was attempting to activate his Sharingan. But when his eyes opened, they were normal. He cursed and attempted a few hands seals but the result was the same. Nothing.

"We need to talk to Naruto," Sakura said. "He understood my hand signals. It's not surprising, since both of us are normal."

"Agreed."

"But… Ino said something about him being really hard to talk to."

"Not to us," Sasuke replied. "Let's go."

He started to walk and Sakura didn't have to ask where he was going. Clearly most of the inhabitants of this school were headed the same place. Indeed when they arrived in the cafeteria, there was barely room to move. They searched the crowd until Sasuke pointed in one direction to a familiar blond haired boy.

They moved quickly towards him but about twenty feet away were stopped. Sasuke looked at the people in front of him with a frown.

"Get out of my way," Sasuke said simply. The noise of the cafeteria began to die down as people turned to watch the scene.

Hyuuga Neji and Rock Lee both shifted uncomfortably. But Neji broke the silence. "You know the rules. This is the popular table. No one is allowed here without permission."

Sasuke looked at him as if he had sprouted another head. "What? What the hell are you talking about?"

"It's the rules," Lee replied. "To keep riffraff like you away," he finished, staring at Sakura. She looked confused his actions but kept her mouth shut. Sasuke didn't follow her approach to things though.

"I could care less if that was Hokage themselves sitting there," he stated, keeping his voice even and cool.

"The what?" Lee asked.

"Get lost," Neji replied, cutting the conversation quickly. "He wouldn't talk to you anyway. Especially not with that piece of trash at your side."

It took a moment for Sakura to realize he was talking about her. Somewhere, deep in her mind, she knew that she should just continue keeping quiet. But her nerves were shot, her stress level was through the roof and she was not about to take being insulted on top of everything else.

"What's wrong Neji? Got tired on picking on your poor cousin so you're looking for a new target?" she retorted. "I promise you, though, that I hit back."

The response she got was not what she expected. She expected anger, possibly a sneer or a punch. She did not expect Neji's face to crumple and his eyes to tear up.

"That's real nice, Haruno," Lee stated.

Sakura was confused but she realized whatever she had just said had silenced the entire cafeteria.

"I knew you were mean," Lee continued, "but to bring up Neji's cousin on the anniversary of her death… have you really stooped that low?"

Sakura's face paled. Hinata? Hinata was dead? She shook her head mentally. No, Hinata was fine. This place wasn't real. Back in their world, Hinata would be just fine.

"Forget it," Sasuke said suddenly, grabbing Sakura's arm. "We don't need to talk with his royal highness that much anyway."

He pulled her away and into the hallway. They walked for a bit and he quickly pushed her into the boy bathroom, not willing to hear an argument if she had one.

"Don't confront them any more," Sasuke lectured. "Obviously, we don't know the story here and the more you try to mess around them, the more of a chance we have of showing we don't belong."

Sakura nodded dumbly. "I'm sorry. It's just…" she closed her eyes and held back the tears. "This whole thing, it's almost too much. I just want to know what's going on."

"Yeah," Sasuke agreed.

"What about Naruto?" she asked.

"He'll be here in a few minutes," Sasuke replied. "While you were causing a scene, I managed to signal to him to meet us here."

"Oh," Sakura whispered, realizing that Sasuke had thought of everything. Here she was, panicking and almost in tears and he had taken control of the situation immediately.

A few seconds later, the door opened and Sasuke shoved Sakura into a stall with him. They waited there, trying to determine who had just entered.

"Guys?" came a tentative voice.

Sasuke sighed and opened the stall, letting both of them out. Naruto watched and his face lit up with joy but Sasuke kept Sakura firmly behind him.

"What did you buy at the store last October?" he asked.

Naruto's joy quickly faded. His eyes searched the ground as he tried to remember the answer. "Shit… something about pumpkin pie and…"

Sakura let out a happy sigh. "It really is him."

"You never remember the pass codes, dobe," Sasuke frowned.

But Naruto smiled. "It's really you too. You guys are the first people to be normal."

"What happened to you?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto shrugged. "I woke up in the middle of class. I had no idea where I was."

"Same thing here," Sasuke replied. "So all three of us woke up and found ourselves in the middle of a class we don't remember taking."

"Forget about taking the class," Naruto cried. "Where the hell is this school? Is it even real?

"Don't know," Sasuke replied. "It may be a genjutsu but it doesn't feel like it. Plus we have another problem."

"Yeah, no chakra," Naruto stated. "Figured that one out pretty fast." Sasuke frowned at the statement but decided not to let Naruto know it hadn't been as obvious to them.

"Guys, do any of you remember what we were doing before you woke up?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke shook his head and Naruto frowned. "I really can't remember anything from the past week to be honest."

"Let's start with what we do know," Sasuke said.

"We know our names and that we don't belong here," Naruto replied.

"I'm sixteen," Sakura added. "A chuunin but… I don't remember if I was on a mission."

"Yeah, I was chuunin too, and so was Sasuke," Naruto said. "Hey! What about Kakashi-sensei?"

"Not the real one," Sasuke answered. "He was 'teaching' my last class and he completely ignored every signal I threw to him."

"Could it be a joke?" Sakura asked. "Maybe they all got together and planned this."

"It wouldn't explain our lack of chakra," Sasuke replied.

"Can you guys read?" Sakura asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Read, like words on the page, do they look normal to you?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, sure. Though I have no idea what the hell an oxidizing agent is"

"Why?" Sasuke continued, turning away from Naruto.

"Because for me, at least, all the words don't make sense," Sakura whispered.

"That is weird," Naruto said. "Do you think it means something?"

"I thought, maybe this was a dream because in dreams, words never look right. But if you two can see it…"

"It couldn't be a dream," Sasuke replied. "Not with all of us in it."

"Unless the other two were just dream versions too."

Naruto groaned and grabbed his head. "This is too complicated. I'm fine with thinking it's the three of us against everyone. It's usually like that anyway."

"But it's never been our friends before," Sakura pointed out.

"Our friends?" Naruto laughed. "Kiba is polite, Chouji is a star athlete and Tenten spent half of class doing her makeup. These are not our friends."

"He's right," Sasuke agreed. "But that doesn't mean we can just do anything we want."

"Huh? Why not?"

"Because if this is illusion," Sakura started, "then we need to help maintain it. If you fight against genjutsu, it only makes the illusion more powerful and eventually it will retaliate. That's when genjutsu can take a physical toll on your body."

"So play along," Sasuke added.

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto frowned.

"Oi! Naruto! What the hell is taking you so long?"

Sasuke and Sakura slipped back into their stall just as the door swung open and Chouji and Kiba walked in. Naruto laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

"Too much of that meat surprise," he said and the other two laughed at him.

"We better get going, bell is going to ring and we don't want to be late," Kiba added.

"Right…" Naruto replied, hesitating with the quip about how Kiba never cared about being on time. Forget about what Sasuke said, he didn't want to piss Sakura off. She obviously wasn't handling things too well and he didn't want to add to her problems.

Sakura listened to them joking and waited for a few seconds in the silence that followed before looking up at Sasuke. He was staring at the door but she didn't think he really knew he was.

She frowned as she looked at him. Even at sixteen, his eyes were as blank as they had been the day she met him. Despite all the torment that he had gone through first with his brother then with Orochimaru, those eyes were still as cold as ever.

"_That usually brings a smile to your face everything."_

Ino's words fluttered through her mind as well as the image of her rival hanging on so tightly. It should have angered her. It should have brought out a string of insults. But just as she was sure Hinata was still alive, she had to be sure that Ino was not really Sasuke's anything.

It would complicate things more if she got jealous now. Considering the situation, she shouldn't even be thinking of things like that. It was childish, just like she used to do when she first joined team seven.

"Sasuke-kun?" she asked, realizing almost a minute had passed.

He blinked a bit and looked down at her with a frown. He opened the door and walked out of the bathroom. He stopped, looking up and down the empty hallway. "We need to find our next class."

"I think I have a schedule," Sakura replied, pulling the bag off her back and rifling through the papers. She pulled out a sheet with boxes on it and held it up. "Is this it?"

He was about to question her actions when he remembered she couldn't read anything. Taking it from her hand, he glanced over it. "Math, in room 1C." He looked down the hall and pointed at a door. "That's it."

"Okay," she nodded, taking the sheet back from him. "What about you?"

His eyes flickered for a moment, but Sakura couldn't place what she saw. He pulled his bag forward and shuffled around without looking until he pulled out a piece of paper. "History, across the hall from you," he said, looking at the door.

"Should we meet after class?" she asked. But he was silent and continued to stare at his door. "Sasuke-kun?"

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. "Fine, whatever."

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing," he replied tersely.

"There's something wrong," Sakura stated. "I know there is."

"Just let it go. It's nothing that would affect us anyway."

Sakura shook her head. "That's not why I'm asking."

He looked at her and shook his head. "It's nothing." He turned to walk away but she grabbed his arm. He tried to shake her free but all it did was send the bag tumbling onto the ground. The contents spilled into the hall and Sakura began stammering apologies as she knelt down.

"I'll get it," he said, pushing her hand away before she could reach for some of the fallen paper.

She got a hold of pile any way. "It's my fault so just…"

His hand snapped out and grabbed her wrist. The papers that she had just collected shook as his grip tightened.

She wanted to cry out but then she saw what was wrong. A picture came loose and fluttered to the ground. She barely got a glimpse before he snatched it away. Sakura looked at him but his face was unreadable.

She turned back to the papers and collected them, knowing that the photograph had been his reason for protests. She handed him the pile and he muttered something half way between a thank you and an apology. She nodded and stood up, shifting the weight of her own bag as she watched him walk away.

The memory of the picture lingered in her mind. She understood why he was acting this way now. In that picture had been not just his smiling face but also one that bore a striking resemblance to him. Just slightly older and with creases in his face. It could only have been 'that man'.

"He's not real either," Sakura whispered. Sasuke's feet came to a halt. She looked up and tentatively continued. "It's just part of the illusion."

Sasuke's hand clenched. "I know that," he said. "So stop trying to help me."

"Sasuke-kun…"

He turned around quickly. "You never give up do you? I know it's an illusion. I know it's not real. So just let it drop. Continuing to pester me, asking me if I'm all right… it's annoying."

Sakura frowned and clenched her bag. She looked up at him, her eyes already starting to well up. "It's always annoying. You know, no matter what I do, it's just annoying to you. Even here, where everything feels like it's been reversed, there's still that one constant in the universe. That I'm always annoying you. I just never occurred to you that maybe, just maybe, I'm not like Ino and all those other girls. Maybe I actually wanted to help because I…"

"Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura stopped talking and looked up at Sasuke. He wasn't looking at her anymore but over her shoulder. Sakura turned around and came face to face with Ino.

The other girl looked at her, tears starting to fall. "Sakura-chan?" she asked weakly.

Sakura shook her head. "Ino… this isn't what you think."

"It isn't?" Ino cried. "Then explain it. Explain why it looked like you were just about to confess your…" Ino sobbed. "This isn't right. It's not supposed to be this way."

There was a low buzz and Sakura realized it was coming from her own head. "Ino… please, just listen to me…"

But the buzz didn't stop. Sakura fell to the ground hearing the thud behind her that could only be Sasuke. This is what they had been afraid of. The illusion had been bent too much. And now it was retaliating.

Sakura could only see the white wall in front of her. The buzz had rendered her deaf and now there was a crushing weight on her chest preventing her from moving. Her neck was turned and she was watching the white slowly crinkle and burn. A red liquid dripped down the wall and floor beneath her got cold. An overwhelming sense of dread filled the air and with no way to escape, Sakura could only watch as the world melted away.

Author note : Revisions made on 3/11/05 based on suggestions by Metrime and Alden-san


	2. School Room Nightmare

**School Room - Nightmare**

"Sakura."

Sakura blinked a few times before realizing that she was still staring at the wall. She slowly pushed herself into a seated position and looked around. Her breath quickened as she got a good look at the surroundings and it was only Sasuke's quick thinking that prevented her from screaming.

He watched her and waited until some of the panic faded from her eyes before removing his hand. He might have chastised her for her actions but the truth was he didn't feel comfortable in this place, either.

Down the long halls, the walls had turned dark red separated only by doorways and lockers. Several floor and ceiling panels were missing, replaced with rusting steel grates. There was a metallic smell in the air that could only be blood and the temperature had dropped a dozen degrees. Worse though was the feeling that emanated from their surroundings, a fear that, even though there was no visible danger, something was stalking them from the shadows.

"Where are we?" Sakura whispered.

"Same place," Sasuke said. "I think the illusion tried to compensate for Ino's disbelief."

Sakura closed her eyes and attempted not to get upset. She had caused this. Why couldn't she ever do anything right? She should have just kept her mouth shut.

"We need to find Ino," she stated, pushing her worries away and concentrating on the task at hand. "If we can reason with her, then the illusion should revert back."

Sasuke stood up slowly, scanning the area. "I'd be more comfortable doing that with a weapon."

Sakura nodded as she got to her feet. "You feel it too then? Like something is coming to get us." Sasuke didn't have to say anything for her to know he agreed. She frowned as she looked down the hall but her disposition quickly changed.

"I think I see something," she said, striding down the hallway. Her feet clicked occasionally on the grating but nothing seemed to react to her sudden movement except Sasuke. He pulled up quickly next to her, having seen what caught her eye.

One of the grates on the floor had come loose and the metal bar that had kept it in place was sticking in the air. Sasuke reached forward and pulled at it, frowning as it refused to come free.

"Sasuke-kun..."

"Give me a second and I'll get it," he snapped back.

"I don't think we have a second."

Sasuke paused and suddenly heard it. His head shot up and looked down the hall. There was something there but the lack of light blurred the details. It was moving slowly yet steadily, dragging one of its legs as it tried to reach them.

Sakura reached forward and started to help tug at the bar. It came free quickly and sent them tumbling backwards. Sasuke recovered first and looked quickly down the hall to find the approaching enemy. The only thing he could see was darkness.

"SASUKE-KUN!"

He swung before even fully turning around to acknowledge her cry. How it got there so fast, he didn't bother to wonder. He just knew from the panic in Sakura's voice that it was here. The creature ducked and Sasuke's strike missed. The momentum threatened to turn him around again so he just went with it, spinning on the ball of his foot and winding up for the second swing. It connected with a sickening crunch and the thing crumpled to the ground.

"It moved so suddenly," Sakura said walking up towards him, "like time had stopped for us but not it." She knelt down and examined it, her inner voice prompting her to keep strong. Out of her group, she was the best with medical knowledge and with that she might be able to discern something about their enemy.

"It doesn't have arms and the eyes don't look like they work either. There's a lot of blood." She frowned. "And you cracked its skull but..." she jumped up as it twitched suddenly. "It's still alive!"

Sasuke frowned and slammed his foot into the wound he had already made. The thing let out a cry and finally was still.

"Not anymore," he stated simply.

Sakura stood up and slowly walked back towards him. "We should find Naruto," she said softly. "If we're here, then he must be as well."

* * *

Naruto's eyes opened despite the protests of his mind. He couldn't really remember why he had fallen asleep, only the strange sound that filled his ears and the room turning black. Much to his dismay it was still dark when his eyes opened and only after several seconds of adjusting, he realized that there were no lights on save a soft red glow from under the closed door.

He stood up slowly, wondering why no one else had noticed or said anything.

"Hey, what happened?" he asked, trying to get the attention of his classmates.

There was a response but not the one he had expected. Something was scampering away, whimpering slightly as it moved towards the other end of the wall. Swallowing his breath, Naruto walked slowly backwards until his hand grasped the doorknob.

He pulled it open, letting the light from outside filter in and bask the room in an eerie red glow. Turning around, he scanned the room until he saw something moving. Slowly he approached it he realized it was human sized..

"Hello?" he asked tentatively and the thing began to shake again. He reached a hand forward, attempting get a better look at what was there.

The mass turned around and Naruto fell several steps backward as the pupil-less eyes stared at him.

"Hinata?"

The girl shook a bit and tried to pull herself deeper into the white yukata she was wearing. Naruto took another step slowly, trying not to frighten her any more but her only response was a strangled cry.

"Go... go away..." her voice whispered, though it lacked the same quality as the Hinata he knew. It wasn't timid or soft, it was terrified and rough. "He'll come... if you're too loud... please... just..."

Naruto slowly knelt down with a frown. "What do you mean he?" She balked a bit as he neared and shook her head. "Nothing... nothing's going to hurt you, okay? I promise."

Hinata blinked and looked up him, tears still rimming her eyes. "You promise?"

Naruto nodded firmly. "Yeah. Come on, we need to find the others."

"There's no one else here," she said. "Just him... and the monsters."

"Monsters?"

Hinata nodded and with a shaking hand, pointed behind Naruto. He stood up and turned just in time to see the blur move in front of him. Startled, he barely had time to block as the thing lunged to hit him. Without arms, the blow was not what he expected. Teeth grazed his blocking arm, breaking the skin and letting blood seep through the fabric of his shirt.

"Shit!" he cried, backing up as the thing tried to move at him again. It stopped suddenly and in the blink of an eye appeared next to Hinata. Naruto quickly shifted his feet and charged into the creature, knocking it away from the terrified girl and towards the classroom door.

In a moment of perfect timing, the door's light faded and Sasuke appeared, already swinging the metal pipe at the thing as it came hurtling at him. The strike hit its target and the moment the thing hit the floor, Sakura appeared behind him and gave it a swift kick to the head.

"Naruto!" Sakura said happily as she saw him standing there. "We thought we weren't going to find you in time."

Naruto eyed the mess on the floor with a grim smile. "Kind of glad you did." He looked at his arm again and the smile slowly dropped. The wound wasn't healing like they normally did in the real world.

"Are you all right?" Sakura asked, watching him look over his arm.

"I took a hit," he said, showing the bite mark. "It's nothing serious... but what was that thing?"

"They're his." The trio turned quickly as Hinata stood up slowly. "They're everywhere. They herd intruders and bring them to him."

"Hinata?" Sakura asked, watching as the other girl emerged from the shadows. "But... they said..."

Sasuke held a hand up. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"What do you mean, 'Who is she?'" Naruto retorted. "It's obviously Hinata."

"Hinata is dead."

Hinata flinched at Sasuke's words. Naruto was about to respond with a few choice words but Hinata spoke first. "He's right... I am dead. At least, I think I am, because this... this is Hell."

Sasuke snorted and it drew Naruto's attention. "What is your problem?"

"This isn't hell," Sasuke replied. "It's an illusion, the same one we were in, only twisted because we stressed the 'rules' too much."

"Hinata..." Sakura said softly, kneeling down next to the girl and looking over the injuries. Most of them were old, bruises and a few cuts. But there were clearly deeper wounds in her psyche.

"It's not Hinata," Sasuke reaffirmed.

"How do you know it's not?" Naruto demanded. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him. "What if everyone else is trapped here too but we're the only ones who realize it?"

"The whole world could not get trapped in an illusion. It's a ridiculous thought."

"Please... you're making too much noise," Hinata whispered, trying to avoid Sakura's probing. "He'll hear you."

"It's not ridiculous! It's just something we should think about," Naruto yelled. "What if you're wrong? What if later we find out we could have helped people but we just left them here in... in this!"

"I'm not wrong," Sasuke replied.

"Why are so sure?" Naruto snapped, standing up and staring into his teammate's eyes. "What do you know?"

Before Sasuke could answer, Hinata's cries broke through their argument. "He's coming... it's too late." She started to push away from Sakura, standing up and trying to meld into the wall out of fear.

"Who is he?" Sakura asked.

As if to answer her, a loud rumbling echoed down the hall. The desks shook slightly and the lights in the hallway flickered. Naruto reached forward, pulled Sakura off the ground and headed towards Hinata.

"I'm not going to stick around and find out," he said. "Let's just get the hell out of here."

"That I'll agree with," Sasuke replied, resting the bar on his shoulder as he followed the other three out.

They ran, avoiding what sounded like additional creatures, and headed towards the front door. As they went down the steps, the rumbling came again and it was all they could do to keep standing. When it finally stopped, they scrambled faster, the need to escape overriding any rational thought they might have had.

Sasuke reached the doors first and yanking on the handle only to find them securely locked. He struggled with them, soon being joined by Naruto but no amount of force would open them.

"Damn it," Naruto said kicking the door. "If I could still summon just a bit of chakra this wouldn't be a problem."

"There has to be another way," Sakura cried, looking around frantically.

Something moved across the top of the stairs and their attention was drawn away from the doors momentarily. Hinata reacted first, panicking even more as she tried to open the door. The other three could only stare.

"Ino," Sakura whispered, taking in the familiar traits of her best friend. The blonde girl stopped walking at the noise but did not turn, one gray eye catching Sakura's stare as she stood in profile.

"It's not right," Ino said softly. "It doesn't make sense."

"We can explain, Ino," Sakura started, hoping that enough explanation would melt the nightmare away.

But the Ino shook her head. "We were friends... but you betrayed that. For him."

Sakura flinched, knowing that the words hit a little too close to home. "Ino..."

Ino turned to face them and the full extent of the illusion's decay came into view. The skin was hanging limply off the left side of her face and the other gray eye was missing. Her left arm hung lifeless at her side, unmoving save for the trickles of blood that ran down it.

Sakura retreated while Sasuke advanced, gripping the pipe tightly. Naruto turned away from the door and headed to Sasuke's side. He frowned at the Ino that stood in front of him.

"Sakura-chan," he said. "Protect Hinata."

Sakura remained motionless for a moment.

"Sakura," Sasuke barked and she finally moved. Nodding a bit, eyes still locked on the creature, she shifted back towards Hinata.

The Ino-beast looked at the two boys with skepticism in her eye. "What are you doing?" The decay began to spread, slowly shifting across her body from left to right.

"Negotiating with Ino seems to be out of the question," Sasuke observed.

"That's not Ino," Sakura replied, watching as the blond hair fell from the creature's head and pooled onto the ground.

"That's what I've been saying this whole time," Sasuke added before taking off, charging up the stairs with the bar lowered.

He reached her in record time but Ino didn't seem interested in him whatsoever. When the strike finally came she didn't move to block it at all. So it surprised him when Sasuke found his attack had come to a premature end.

Wrapped around the metal pole was a gray tentacle extending from the side of her body. Another one appeared suddenly and Sasuke barely had time to jump out of the way before it struck him. Naruto quickly ran up while Ino's attention was on Sasuke, ready to attack.

"Sakura, Hinata! RUN!" he screamed jumping on the creature's back.

Sakura grabbed Hinata's hand and pulled her as she ran up the stairs and in the opposite direction of the fight. Ino cried out and the building rumbled again, causing Hinata to gasp out in fear. Sakura didn't pause at the noise and instead pulled her down the hall, so intent on getting away that she barely noticed the chain link wall in front of her.

"No, no, no!" Sakura cried, pulling at it to try to get it to move. But it refused. The sounds of battle were approaching quickly and panic was engulfing her very being. She looked around and dived at a classroom door, throwing it open and rushing inside with Hinata.

The classroom was cluttered with desks and Sakura pushed them to the side as she struggled to cross it. There was another door on the other side and she could only hope it wasn't locked. The knob turned easily in her hand and she dashed into the next room.

"What the hell?" she cried, seeing a classroom exactly as the one before. Hinata came up slowly behind her, quiet in her panic but hand reaching out to grab the back of Sakura's shirt.

There was noise at the front of the classroom and one of the armless creatures came into the dim light. Sakura started to retreat to the previous room but a quick peek inside told her that there were three more there.

"It's a trap," Hinata whispered.

Sakura nodded and quickly scanned the area for something she could use. "Stay in the corner. I'll take care of them."

Hinata didn't bother to argue, instead curling up on the floor and watching as the creatures advanced slowly onto her protector.

Sakura frowned, knowing that their movements were hard to determine. They'd be on her in a second if she lost sight of them. She edged back towards one of the walls, groping for anything useful. Chalk, erasers, and other small trivialities that could offer her no assistance were all she encountered.

Even with their slow movements, she knew they would reach her eventually. And the moment Hinata cried out in panic as one of them reached the door, she knew her time was up. Four opponents, no weapons, just the hope that Lee's tutoring would be enough.

She kicked her right leg forward, slipping it under a chair and using the momentum to toss it towards the single monster on the right while preparing to charge the three to her left.

The first creature fell back as soon as the chair hit it. The remaining three didn't see her coming until three solid punches sent them sprawling backwards. Sakura flexed her fingers, the skin already broken from hitting something as hard as their faces.

They got up quickly though as if the punches had done nothing but throw them off balance for a moment. So she attempted another method. She kicked low to the ground, sweeping the legs of one of them as she turned on the ball of her foot. The second she had returned to her starting position, she lifted the same leg as high into the air as she could and slammed it down on the fallen monster's face.

The thing twitched for a moment before it died, narrowing the opponents down to three. Her attack had left her vulnerable, however, and one of them shot forward, teeth bared as it attempted to strike. She dodged to the side at the last second and shot her arms forward, grabbing its chin with one hand and the back of its head with the other. She twisted her arm quickly, rewarded by a satisfying crack as the creature's neck broke.

She couldn't be sure it was dead so when the final of the trio attacked, she knelt down avoid the blow, simultaneously striking it in the stomach while sending her fist through the fallen one's temple, feeling the skull beneath her break and the blood dribble onto her hand.

Standing up quickly, she wrapped her arms around the remaining one's neck and threw him over her shoulder, tossing him harshly to the ground. Already beginning to run out of breath, she didn't bother to make it fancy. She just slammed her foot on its neck, repeatedly, until it had no life in it.

"Look out!"

Sakura turned, knowing she had lost eye contact with the one that had been on the other side of the room. She grabbed a desk near her and swung blindly. It hit something but Sakura didn't stop. She just swung until the desk connected with the wall and broke apart in her hands.

In the debris, she could see the final monster, clearly dead. Letting out a deep sigh of relief, she was about to get Hinata when she realized that she had just made something useful. Reaching down, she retrieved one of the destroyed desk's metal legs, wrenching it free until a sharp triangle of wood remained on its end.

"Let's get going," Sakura said, walking over and grabbing Hinata's hand.

The two girls went out the door and Sakura found herself on the other side of the iron wall. At least they had moved slightly forward.

She could no longer hear any sounds of fighting but she knew that the boys could take care of themselves. She needed to find a way out of this place and with them distracting the beast, she'd have more freedom to do so.

She wandered down the hall until she reached a staircase going up and down. She looked at it with puzzlement.

"Where do these go?" she asked Hinata.

The white-eyed girl shook her head. "Nowhere."

"What?"

"It's the same on the next floor, just classrooms. The basement... you don't want to go there."

Sakura looked down the darkening staircase and swore she could hear the moans of more creatures down there. "There has to be a way outside."

Hinata looked at her. "Outside? Those doors..." she said as she pointed to a set of double doors in the wall.

"Are the unlocked?" Sakura cried. Hinata nodded slowly as if unsure but it was enough for Sakura. She ran towards them and threw them open, stumbling out into the cold clean air of outside.

She looked around and realized that she could barely see five feet in front of her. A deep fog had settled over the area and it made details hard to see. But if she looked at the ground she could make out a path. Turning back, she motioned for Hinata to follow her and they scurried down the path.

A few seconds later, Sakura could make out another set of doors in front of them. She ran for them blindly, pulling them open and stumbling.

But there was no exit there. Instead it was the hall where they had started. She looked frantically around, trying to understand what had happened.

"I thought that was an exit?" she asked Hinata.

"No... you just said you wanted to go outside," Hinata whispered. "The courtyard is the only part that is outside."

"But the exit! Where is the exit!" Sakura cried.

Hinata looked at her with despair. "There is no exit."

Sakura looked at her like she was insane. She wanted to yell, to shake the girl until she gave away the secret of getting out of here. But instead, she caught sight of what had happened to the hallway and stopped talking altogether.

A massive battle had taken place here. Grating had been ripped off and tossed everywhere. The lockers were bent and destroyed. Several doors were missing. And there were carcasses of armless beasts littering the hall.

"Naruto... Sasuke-kun..." she whispered. Then her eyes widened and she tried again, this time screaming at the top of her lungs. "Naruto! Sasuke-kun! Where are you!!"

Her only answer came from the courtyard. The windows from the second level exploded and her teammates came tumbling out, followed immediately by the monster. When the dust settled, Sakura could see that both of them were ensnared in the tentacle appendages of the beast.

Sasuke still had the bar but the creature was keeping him at a distance so he couldn't strike a hit. Naruto had resorted to trying to claw his way out but it wasn't working at all. Sakura shifted her grip on the desk leg and positioned her feet for a run.

"Stay here," she told Hinata before charging at the thing.

She saw what the twisted version of Ino had become. A mass of scarred skin that barely looked human, both of its arms were working again in addition to the two growths out of its side that held her teammates. Its face had not fully reformed so the skin still hung off the bone. It caught her in its red rimmed eyes and smiled slightly.

"Sakura-chan! Get out of here!" Naruto called finally seeing her.

Sakura did exactly the opposite. She ran straight for it, weapon held firmly as she did. It reacted swinging one of its appendages at her, with Naruto still captured there. She pushed off the ground and managed to flip over it as it tried to sweep her, Naruto's yells passing her by like the sound of a speeding locomotive.

It swung at her again, this time sending Sasuke her way this time. She dove under it driving the weapon into the fleshy part as it passed. The desk leg stayed firmly attached and Sakura held on, letting it drag her along the ground for a few seconds before she could swing a leg on it and right herself.

She wrapped her arms firmly around it, forcing away her revulsion at its sickly flesh. Hand over hand she worked her way along the flailing tentacle until she reached Sasuke. She gripped it firmly with her knees and ankles, freeing a hand to help him uncoil it from around him. It loosened slightly and Sasuke was able to free himself and drop to the ground as Sakura jumped away.

"Get Naruto!" Sasuke commanded, charging at it with the metal pole. Sakura quickly complied, running over and grabbing on to the tentacle as soon as it tried to attack her. While she worked her way up to Naruto, Sasuke charged it, aiming to hit it right on the head.

Before he could reach it, just as Sakura had freed Naruto, the battle came to a grinding halt as a feminine scream pierced the air. Looking over, the trio watched horrified as the beast impaled Hinata on one of the tentacles.

"Hinata!" Sakura cried, watching helplessly as the other girl slumped forward onto the very thing that had killed her.

The beast howled in victory and the noise began to echo in their ears. It forced them to their knees, covering their ears desperately to escape the noise. They could only watch as the monster pulled it's prize in, dragging the girl's body across the courtyard towards it.

In a matter of minutes, the noise took them over, filling every one of their sense and forcing them back into the darkness.

* * *

**Author's note **: Yes it took a long time. Take it up with my employer who decided to lay off half the department and sack the rest of us with too much work. Hopefully, it won't take as long next chapter.


	3. Apartment Normal

**Apartment - Normal**

"Sasuke-kun…"

"Not even close."

Sakura's eyes flew open and she looked around frantically. She was in a classroom but it had returned to normal. The desks were in neat rows and the walls were intact. At the front of the room was Shikamaru, who stared at her as he tapped a pencil on the desk.

"What…" she started.

Shikamaru sighed. "You know, I don't have to help you in school," he said. "I could just tell you to find another tutor. I do have other things to do." Sakura stared at him with wide open eyes and eventually he toned down his lecture. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Sakura shook her head. "I was… it must have been a nightmare. But… Ino was there and…"

"Who?" he asked.

Sakura's brow furrowed. "Ino…" He still looked confused. "Yamanaka Ino."

Shikamaru shrugged. "What, a friend of yours or something?"

"You know her!" Sakura cried, standing up from the desk. "She was here, not too long ago. You went to eat lunch with her… you were laughing with her!"

"Sakura," Shikamaru replied, "just calm down. I'm sorry but I have no idea who you are talking about."

The door slammed opened and Naruto gripped the side of the frame, trying to catch his breath. He looked up at her with panic-filled eyes. Sakura quickly collected her things and walked over to him. It was obvious that whatever had happened was not a dream at all.

"I'm sorry, Shikamaru-san," Sakura said. "But I need to go."

"Whatever," he said, a hint of his normal laziness coming back into his voice. "Just be careful. The weather is a bit… strange."

Sakura waved him off and followed Naruto outside. They took a few steps down the hall to put some space between themselves and Shikamaru. As soon as they were sure no one else was within earshot, Naruto began speaking.

"It wasn't a dream was it?" Naruto asked. Sakura shook her head. "I woke up in the music room and everyone there looked normal again."

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, me too, only… Shikamaru doesn't remember Ino."

"What do you mean?"

"It's like," Sakura started, frowning with every word, "she never existed here."

"Shit," Naruto said. "So what the hell does that mean? Was that other world real?"

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know, but I think it can affect this world." She looked around the empty halls. "We should find Sasuke-kun."

Naruto nodded. "Any idea where he is?"

"None," she replied. "It seems like half the day passed while we were in the other world."

"Maybe he went home," Naruto suggested. "Not that we know where home is."

Sakura tapped her foot as she thought. "His locker. He might have information in there." She started to walk down the halls, looking at each name taped onto the lockers, searching for Sasuke's. But it was no use.

"Damn it!" she cried, kicking one of the lockers with her foot. "I still can't read anything."

Naruto nodded and quickly took her spot, looking at the names himself as Sakura slumped dejectedly onto the wall. He moved quickly, rattling off many familiar names but not the one they needed until finally several rows down he began to wave frantically.

By the time Sakura reached him he was pulling at the door. "Damn thing is locked." He glared at it for a moment before slamming his fist into it. The door barely moved but Naruto tumbled backwards, cursing up a storm as he held his bruised knuckles.

"At little more finesse, Naruto," Sakura chided, leaning over and placing her ear on the door as she turned the lock. There was a click and she glared at her teammate. "We are ninja after all."

She opened the door and was met with a mostly empty locker. There were textbooks but no pictures, no coat, nothing that was personal. She reached into the back and slowly pulled out his schoolbag, glad to have at least that.

She sat down and started to rifle through it, pulling out books and handing them to Naruto to look through. She remembered how protective Sasuke had been of his bag but as she emptied it she couldn't understand why – until she got to the bottom and found a crumpled photograph.

"Got it," Naruto smiled, ripping out a piece of paper from a notebook to scribble down the address from the inside of textbook. "Che, not like I know where this is or anything but it's a start, right Sakura-chan?" He looked at her and found that she wasn't paying attention to him "What is it?"

Sakura's forehead scrunched as she examined the picture. It explained why Sasuke was so reluctant to let them see inside his bag and why he refused to believe any of this was real. "Naruto…" Sakura started, holding up the picture for him to see.

Naruto took it and frowned. Sasuke was in it, doing something he rarely did, smiling. But what was more disturbing was the older Uchiha that was standing next to him, smiling as well.

"Itachi?" Naruto asked. Sakura nodded. "But… I don't get it."

Sakura took the picture back. "Don't you see, Naruto? Shikamaru is polite and a hard worker. Lee was a jerk. Neji almost cried. And Itachi…"

"Itachi is the perfect brother," Naruto finished. "Shit."

Sakura sighed in agreement. "At least now I know why he didn't want us to look inside his bag." She put a hand to her head. "We need to find him right away."

"Yeah, that's why we were…" Naruto started.

"No, think about it Naruto. Sasuke isn't exactly rational when it comes to his brother. The 'nightmare' started when Ino noticed that we weren't acting by the rules of this world. So…"

"So when Sasuke sees Itachi, he's not exactly going to be the smiling younger brother," Naruto finished.

"Exactly. We need to find him and try to stop that from happening. Otherwise the illusion is going to try to compensate again." She stood up and headed towards the doors, Naruto quickly behind.

The moment they stepped outside, they understood what Shikamaru had meant about the weather being bizarre. A deep fog had descended on the town and they could barely see two feet in front of them.

"Crap," Naruto said. "I can't see a damn thing. It almost makes me wish Neji was here to show us how to get through this."

"Let's just go, standard defense formation with you in the front," Sakura stated. "I can't read the street signs so you'll have to make the map." She pulled out a small notebook from her bag and handed it to him with a pencil.

Naruto frowned for a moment but took the materials all the same. He walked forward, knowing that Sakura would cover his back. In fact, she was only a few inches behind him, slowly walking backwards and trying to find anything dangerous in the fog.

They moved like that past endless stores, none of which seemed to be open. The streets were deserted and when they heard a noise neither felt the need to investigate it.

"What the hell!" Naruto yelled, coming to a stop so suddenly that Sakura almost ran into him.

"What's wrong?" she asked, not willing to turn around.

"The road ended," he said. He pulled her around to face what he was seeing. In front of him was a tall wall that disappeared into the fog. There were no doors present, no gap between where it touched buildings on either side.

Sakura put her hand to it and pressed, feeling the cement beneath it refuse to move. "Who the hell builds a cement wall in the middle of the road?" she yelled, giving it a kick.

"A bit more finesse," Naruto replied with a smile as he pulled her away. "We just need to find another way around it."

Sakura nodded, glad at least one of them still had their wits about them. She started to search the wall for any sign of weakness but it appeared completely solid. Naruto got a good grip on a crack and tried to climb up. But after a few feet, the cement smoothed to perfection and he slid back down.

"Should we double back?" Naruto asked as he landed on the ground.

Sakura frowned. "I don't know. I feel like… we're being herded someplace and I don't think that's a good thing. We should really try to keep going straight."

Naruto nodded and pointed to the side of the street. "Maybe try finding an unlocked building and cross through a few backyards?"

Sakura nodded in agreement and resumed her defensive position as Naruto moved to the sidewalk and began working the doors. Most were commercial buildings and all were heavily locked. They turned the corner and started down a more residential street. Sakura couldn't read the names but something seemed oddly familiar about the road.

"None of these are going to open," Naruto whined, looking back to ask his teammate what they should do next.

But Sakura was walking ahead, her eyes fixated on one of the houses a few meters away. Before he could ask what was going on, he saw it to.

"Sakura-chan…isn't this…"

Sakura swiped her hand across the top of the door frame and found the familiar key there. She pulled it down and traced the familiar symbols on the wall. Haruno. She didn't need to be able to read to know this was her house.

"Why is your house here?" Naruto asked softly.

Sakura shook her head in response. She had no idea but she still reached forward to put the key into the lock. Naruto grabbed her wrist.

"Before, you said you felt we were being herded someplace," Naruto replied. "You can't tell me that this doesn't feel like still."

Sakura frowned. "It does but… I don't think we really had a choice anyway."

She unlocked the door and it swung open effortlessly. Naruto slipped in, not willing to let her face the danger first. He scanned the area and found it was almost an exact replica of Sakura's house. It was eerily still though, the furniture covered with a thick layer of dust. There were no enemies here. In fact, the entire house felt devoid of life.

Sakura moved slowly behind him, almost afraid to look around. It was her house but she felt it too, the lingering feeling of lifelessness. She walked slowly but the realization of what this might mean hit her suddenly and she ran toward the stairs. Naruto called out for her but she ignored him.

She walked down the upstairs hall, letting her hand trail against the familiar wall. She stopped in front of her door just as Naruto caught up. They looked at each other for a moment and Sakura pushed it open.

The room inside was a complete copy Sakura's bedroom in the real world. Pink curtains, pink sheets and scrolls strewn all over the place. Naruto let out a sigh of relief.

"We were worried for nothing," he said.

Sakura smiled in agreement. "I don't think there's anything of danger here. Why don't you look downstairs for supplies and I'll finish checking the upstairs." Naruto nodded and bounded down the stairs, never seeing Sakura's smile fade.

She turned away from her room and walked across the hall, putting a hand on the door that was her parents' bedroom. Even before the handle turned in her hand, she knew what she was going to find.

The bedroom was almost empty. Gone was the quilt covered queen sized bed she had jumped on as a child. Gone were the pictures of their family. All that remained was a tiny altar with separate pictures of both husband and wife. Sakura walked up to it, kneeling in front of it.

If the world here was opposite of everything back home, then of course her parents would be dead. But it wasn't real, she reminded herself as she looked at their pictures. Nothing in this world was.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled from downstairs.

Sakura stood up quickly, knocking the altar over as she did. Something metallic hit the ground and she leaned over to see what it was. A tiny gold key lay amongst the incense ashes and broken glass. She gingerly pulled it free of the debris and pocketed it as she walked out the door.

"What is it?" she demanded as soon as she came down the stairs.

"There's a door in the back," Naruto said. "I think if we can cross this yard and the one neighboring it, we should be able to get around the cement wall. Only… the door is locked."

Sakura nodded. "I think I found the key. Let's go."

She walked through the familiar rooms and never looked back. She understood why 'it's not real' had become Sasuke's mantra. She slipped the key into the back door and the lock clicked open. When they stepped into the backyard, she almost choked on the fog. The air was too humid for it not to be raining, but instead the fog was just getting worse.

In her rush to get away, she had completely forgotten they were supposed to stay close. The yard couldn't have been more then a dozen meters across but it took a matter of seconds to lose Naruto. Sakura came to a stop and turned around, finding only the fog behind her quickly erasing her path there.

"NARUTO?" she yelled, frantically trying to find him.

Something answered her but the low growl most definitely did not sound like him. Looking at the source of the noise, she watched as the four legged beast emerged. Sakura took a step back, recognizing it as her neighbor's dog. In the real world, it had been friendly but it had changed dramatically here.

The dog looked up at her and growled again, madness in its eyes. Sakura frowned as she watched it lean back on its haunches and realized a second too late that it was going to attack her.

A hand grabbed her arm and pulled her away just as the dog leapt. It dragged her back to the house and threw her inside, slamming the door shut as soon as she was clear. Sakura looked up at Naruto with a bit of gratitude but he shook his head.

"We need to stick together," he said firmly. "So don't run ahead again. I couldn't see you in the fog at all." Sakura nodded in agreement. She wasn't going to try that again. This world was turning into one as hostile as the nightmare.

"Do you parents keep any weapons here?" Naruto asked.

"In their bedroom usually but… I checked and they weren't there." She paused for a moment. "My dad does have some gardening equipment we might be able to use." She walked over to the kitchen and pulled open the storage closet door. Lucky for her, everything inside was exactly as she remembered.

"Your father gardens with these?" Naruto asked, not masking the shock in his voice.

"We have a big problem with weeds," she said, reaching in and grabbing a sickle and a hammer. "Here take these, you were always faster with weapon fighting then I was so these should work well."

"What about you?" he asked.

Sakura reached in and hefted a huge woodcutting axe out and onto her shoulder. "I'll take this," she said. Naruto looked at her and then back down at his own weapons.

"I think you should lead," he suggested with a smile. "I don't want to be in the path of that thing."

Sakura returned the smile and walked out the door, making sure Naruto was a few steps behind her. She heard the dog growling again but this time she was ready. The second the fog split, she swung the axe, connecting with the dog and sending two pieces into the abyss.

"This is why I try not to get on your bad side," Naruto whispered as he followed her closely.

Sakura reached the back fence and came to a stop. She looked over at Naruto to verify that he had heard it too. But he was already staring into the fog as three more dogs appeared.

"You have got to be kidding me," Naruto said, swinging the sickle the moment the first dog attacked. He caught it in the throat and slammed the dog into the ground, following up quickly with a hammer blow to the head.

Sakura took the second and cleaved it in two. The third wisely backed up and eyed them warily. It let out a long howl that was quickly answered several times over from the depths of the fog. Sakura and Naruto exchanged glances and jumped over the wall into the neighbor's yard, running at full speed towards the road.

"Turn left!" Sakura yelled as Naruto swung at an attacking dog. Sakura didn't miss a beat and grabbed his arm before he could finish the opponent off. "Forget it! We'll be overrun if we keep fighting every one of them. Just RUN!"

Deciding not to argue with a girl carrying that huge of a weapon, Naruto complied. He kept an eye on the sidewalk looking for any street signs until he finally recognized a name.

"Sakura! The street from the address is on the right!"

She nodded and shifted her run quickly. "Start looking for the right number," she told him. He began rattling them off as they passed, knowing it would be better if she had an idea of how far away they were.

"Three hundred two, that's it!" Naruto yelled coming to a stop in front of a huge apartment building. Sakura paused too, taking the chance to catch her breath.

"I think we lost them," she said, putting the axe on the ground and taking a few deep breaths.

The fog answered her with a growl. Worse than that, it was coming from all around them. Naruto and Sakura exchanged a glance before locking on to the building and bolting towards it. They squeezed through the front doors before anything attacked them and didn't stop running until they were well into the lobby.

"Did the address have an apartment number on it?" Sakura asked, sitting down on the floor to let her legs rest.

Naruto shook his head and started to look around for anything useful. There was a map of the apartment building on the bulletin board and he ripped it down. Even though the tenant names weren't on it, it would help them get around.

"Mailboxes," Sakura added, pointing to wall next to him.

He nodded and started to look for Sasuke's name one on of the door. "You're not going to believe this," he said softly.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"Every name here is Uchiha."

Sakura let out a deep sigh and leaned back, letting herself just lie on the ground for a moment while she tried to think things through. Naruto joined her, putting his weapons on the ground.

"It's just getting worse isn't it?" Naruto asked.

Sakura closed her eyes. "Yeah," she replied softly. "I just wish we could remember something about what happened before we woke up here. Were we in a fight? Did we open a scroll by mistake?" She paused. "Did we die and this is…"

Naruto reached over and put a hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. He smiled broadly, the same warming one he gave whenever his teammates needed some cheering up.

"We're fine," Naruto replied. "Probably just ate some bad ramen or something."

Sakura looked at him for a moment before falling into laughter. Only Naruto could lighten up the situation like this. She had almost calmed down when the scream filled the air.

They didn't waste a moment but charged up the stairs and towards the source of the pain filled cries. They were definitely masculine but it didn't sound like Sasuke. Sakura could only hope they weren't too late.

They reached the second floor and ran down the hall, heading toward the one door that was open. Sakura stepped inside first, barely aware of Naruto's attempt to make her stop and be more careful.

Inside the tiny apartment, they found the one thing they had feared. Sasuke was there, staring at the ground, hand bloody and broken. On the ground was what looked to be Itachi, covering his face. They couldn't hear his words but they could understand the disbelief.

"You couldn't have waited five more minutes?" Naruto asked Sasuke, watching his teammate fall to the ground.

A second later the noise began and Naruto could barely stand as it filled their being and brought the darkness again.


	4. Apartment Nightmare

**Apartment - Nightmare**

"Sasuke?"

The raven haired boy opened an eye and focused on the person in front of him. The worried look on Naruto's face instantly melted away and was replaced by annoyance.

"You couldn't have waited five minutes?" Naruto asked

Sasuke chose not to respond but slowly stood up. He took in the room, noticing that the normal apartment had faded once again into a nightmare version. The wallpaper was replaced with chain linked fences. His shoes echoed on the metal floor below him and a quick breath assaulted his senses with bitter smells and the lingering sense of fear.

He looked over as Naruto helped Sakura up. Her pink hair shook slightly as Sakura tried to clear her head.

"Great, we lost our weapons our weapons again," Sakura sighed, frowning at the lack of axe and sickle.

"What now?" Naruto asked.

Sakura frowned. "I don't know. Last time we only escaped because…" She trailed off.

"That's not an option this time," Naruto interrupted.

"Then we need to start looking for another one," Sakura responded.

Sasuke left them to discuss the situation while he explored the converted apartment. When he had first arrived it was already a nightmare. Pictures of a smiling family, perfectly arranged cushions on the sofa. Everything was a lie, perpetuated by this place that seemed intent to drive them all insane.

He paused and looked in the bedroom, finding the once well-made beds in shambles. He walked over to the frames and quickly yanked two of the legs free. The metal pipes rested well in his hands.

"Sasuke-kun?"

He looked over his shoulder at Sakura. "I found something useful."

"Oh," she said softly, looking at the metal bars. "I just wanted to see…"

"I'm fine."

She frowned. "You should have told us, you know."

He nodded. "It was a tactical mistake."

"No… I didn't mean it like that. I meant that… this had to be hard for you and you know we're here to help."

Sasuke let out a sigh. "You don't get it, do you? You never did. I don't need your help. Not back when we were in the academy. Not when we were a genin team. Not even after I was dragged back to Konoha. I don't need your help. I just need you to fight well and do your job."

He walked out, right into a glaring Naruto but quickly avoided the argument that was brewing. He tossed the weapon to Naruto and headed out the door.

Sakura followed and Naruto frowned at her. She shook her head. "He's right. Now's not the time. Come on, let's catch up to him."

They slowly made their way out the door, almost tumbling over Sasuke who had knelt down to examine something on the ground. He ran his fingers along the outside of a foot print with a frown.

"Is it his?" Naruto asked, not daring to say the hated name out loud.

Sasuke shook his head. "Too small. Someone else is here again."

"We should check the rooms," Sakura stated. "One by one, with Sasuke opening the doors and Naruto covering our back. Without a weapon, I'll stay between you and keep a look out." Naruto nodded in agreement, quickly slipping into his position as Sasuke stood up and headed for the first door.

Ten minutes later, the hall was secure. Most of the doors were locked and the ones that weren't led to empty rooms. It wasn't necessarily disappointing. After all, none of them were looking forward to facing another monster like before. But at the same time, there was no easy way out of this place.

"What now?" Naruto asked, leaning against the last door.

"We should probably…"

A scream echoed down the halls. Sakura's eyes opened at the familiar femininity of it. She looked over to Naruto to confirm the suspicions but he was already gone. Sasuke cursed and grabbed her hand, dragging her down the hall in the direction that Naruto had run to.

The blond had stopped at the staircase and was looking around feverishly, trying to locate the source of the voice. As if to answer his search, the girl screamed again and Naruto looked down over the side.

"NARUTO!" Sakura screamed, just as he launched himself over the railing and jumped the two flights down.

Sasuke moved to do the same but Sakura grabbed him. "You can't! I can't heal you if you hurt anything." He frowned but let the logic of the statement hit him and he started down the twisting staircase.

On the ground, Naruto winced at the pain in his left ankle. He managed to stand up but he was quickly knocked to the side. He hit the wall with a sharp crack and felt something in his shoulder shift out of place. His gaze fell out of focus as he looked up and all he saw was a sky of black with red clouds.

The girl screamed again and the thing in front of him moved quickly, sliding across the floor and disappearing out a door. Naruto tried to stand up again but his shoulder screamed in protest.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried reaching him. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," Naruto replied quietly.

"No you won't! You can't heal the same way you used to. And I can't use jutsu to heal you either." Naruto fell silent as Sakura prodded him for any sign of injury. He tried to keep silent when she examined his shoulder but it was hard to hide the pain. Sakura frowned. "You dislocated it."

"I'll be… OW! What are you doing?"

"Sasuke hold him down," Sakura ordered. Before Naruto could protest, Sasuke had him by his good arm and Sakura was popping the other one back in place. Naruto's eyes watered slightly but he refused to cry out.

"I'm sick of you both telling me you're fine," Sakura said, ripping the sleeve off Naruto's shirt and making a sling. "I'm the only one with medical training in this group and it's hard enough to try to patch you guys up when I do have chakra to use."

"Sorry, Sakura-chan," Naruto whispered. She frowned but still made sure not to jostle him while she slipped the sling around his arm.

"Just be more careful," Sakura replied, picking up the metal pipe from the ground. "And I'll take this. You just stick in between Sasuke and me."

"Yeah, got it," Naruto said.

"Where to now?" Sasuke asked. Naruto pointed at the door where the monster had gone through.

Sasuke nodded and started to head that way but Sakura quickly caught him. "Can I suggest not running straight towards danger before we know what the situation is?" Sasuke glared at her but she shook her head. "You've said it yourself a million times. This isn't real and that… thing is not your brother."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Sasuke asked.

"We find the girl who was screaming," Sakura replied. "Naruto, did you see her?"

Naruto shook his head. "She wasn't here."

Sakura paused and looked up. They had only come down two flights of stairs but the ceiling was at least five floors up. The screams had obviously echoed up so the girl should be here. Unless the beast had already gotten her.

Sasuke realized what his teammate was doing and started to look around the area himself. While Sakura concentrated on what was above, Sasuke studied the ground, looking for signs of another foot print.

Naruto suddenly sneezed and the other two looked at him. He got a somewhat sheepish grin on his face. "Sorry, there must be a draft or something. Just got real cold…"

He trailed off when he saw the look they were giving him. Sasuke flashed a few hand signals and Sakura nodded. He knelt to the ground next to Naruto and closed his eyes, waiting for the same breeze Naruto had felt. When the cold air prickled his skin, Sasuke's eyes opened and he locked on to the source.

He moved towards the ventilation grate, feeling Sakura fall into step behind him, weapon raised and ready. Sasuke held his fingers low, counting backwards from five. When he hit one, he yanked the grating off and Sakura moved in for the strike.

Hinata screamed out in fear but Sasuke's hand moved quick to silence her. He looked at her clouded eyes and waited until the panic died down before letting her go.

"You… you came back," Hinata said softly.

Sakura reached forward and pulled the other girl out of the tiny hiding space. She was immediately crushed into a hug and the warm tears were already soaking the sleeve of her jacket.

"It's okay," Sakura whispered. "We're not going to let him get you again."

Hinata sniffled and raised her head. "You can't help me. He'll find me no matter where I go." She pushed Sakura away. "You need to go away. Now."

"Bullshit," Naruto said standing up. "I don't get how this world works, but Sakura-chan's right. We're not letting him get you again."

"Don't you see?" Hinata cried. "You have no choice. This is his world. You can't fight him."

"'Him?'"Sasuke demanded. "'Him' as in Itachi?"

Hinata looked up at him with confusion in her eyes. "I don't know his name."

"Do you think this is his doing?" Sakura asked softly. "Is this what Tsukiyomi's world looks like?"

The thought that this nightmare was caused by his brother had crossed Sasuke's mind. But he shook his head. "It's too complex. The world of that technique is monochromatic, simple and usually involves only one action repeated over and over again. Creating something this complex… it's beyond him."

"Then who?" Naruto asked. "Who could create something like this?"

The beast answered him, roaring through the hallway and splintering the door near them.

"Run!" Sakura screamed, letting Naruto take Hinata and get away while she and Sasuke stayed behind to guard.

The black coat of the Akatsuki was now covering the Itachi in front of him. The clouds on it were moving and Sakura could swear she felt the breeze as they did. The creature smiled slightly as it turned to them.

"Sasuke-kun," he said softly. "Aren't you glad to see your big brother?"

Sasuke's grip on his weapon tightened but his feet refused to move.

"Isn't this what you wanted?" Itachi asked. "Us… together, like old times? I can train you today. And later, we can have dinner with mom and dad. Just like before…"

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura asked, sensing his hesitation.

"Just let me have the girl," Itachi said. "And this will all go away. Let me make it right again."

Sakura looked at the exchange with a frown. She recognized Sasuke's reaction. It was the same she had had with Ino. These illusions were persuasive in offering the thing that you wanted most.

There was only one choice to break the spell. She stepped forward and Itachi barely saw her attack. The pipe came crashing down but he moved at the last second so it only glanced off his arm. He used the other one to grab her by the throat.

"These girls," Itachi said. "They've always annoyed you. Trying to hang around you or asking you to share your feelings." His grip increased and Sakura clawed to get free. "I'll rid you of the nuisance."

Itachi's head snapped away from her and Sakura felt blood spray her cheek. He let go of her and she dropped to the ground choking as the air rushed back into her lungs. Sasuke pulled her away from Itachi, still gripping the pipe tightly.

"They do annoy me," Sasuke said. "But this one is my teammate."

Itachi growled and turned around, his neck twisted at an odd angle. He looked at Sasuke with anger in his black eyes. "I would have given you what you wanted the most."

"What I want the most is you… dead," Sasuke replied as he struck at him again.

Itachi disappeared into a blur of red and black, shifting across the floor at impossible speed. Sasuke reached down and pulled Sakura to her feet. By the time he turned around, Itachi was gone. He let out a sigh.

"We should find Naruto," Sasuke said, trying to stop any words of thanks that Sakura might have had. He was a bit surprised to find she didn't even try. His troubled look must have been apparent.

"What is it?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing," he replied. But after a beat he eyed her again, looking for a sigh of real injury.

She looked at him. "Expecting the normal gush of thanks?" she asked softly. "Well, I'm your teammate so I know how much you hate that."

It made sense, but somehow Sasuke didn't feel exactly comforted by her words. Maybe it was the tone she had used. Before he could question it though, Naruto's voice called to them from one of the apartments.

They ran inside and found Naruto trying to hold a broom as a weapon while Hinata curled in the corner. "I thought it was him," Naruto said lowering the broom.

Sakura quickly went over to Hinata and knelt down, looking for any signs of injury. "Are you okay?" she asked lamely, trying to calm the other girl down.

"Is there a way out," Sasuke demanded, ignoring the glare he received from his teammates. He wasn't here to spare the emotions of some make believe girl.

"There… is," Hinata whispered. "But you don't want to go there."

The noise of shattering wood was almost lost as the beast howled again. Sasuke shot his teammates a look and they silently agreed. Itachi was hunting them, room by room.

"The window," Sakura pointed, looking at the grime covered glass. She tried to open it but the edges were stuck. "Sasuke-kun, I need your help."

He moved quickly, hearing another door breaking apart. They strained for a few second before the window screeched and moved up slowly. Sakura shot him a panicked look and he quickly moved outside, balancing on the thin ledge there.

"Move now!" he said, hearing the beast moving towards the hall. Sakura helped Hinata out on the ledge and then Naruto. They were slowly sliding across the side of the building as Sakura joined them.

"Where do we go?" she asked, making sure she didn't look down. Sasuke pointed to the corner of the building.

"There's some sort of scaffolding there," he said. "We should…"

The window behind them exploded. Sakura threw her arm to protect her face from the glass. Something cut into her arm but she held her balance, despite the lack of chakra in her feet.

"GO!" she screamed, quickly moving back to where they had come from. She needed to buy them time.

"Sakura!" Sasuke yelled, seeing she was headed back.

"I'll hold him off!" she yelled back, twist the pipe in her hand. "Get them to the scaffolding." She didn't let him answer. He wanted her to fight well and that was what she was going to do.

The Itachi-creature looked outside the window and was met by a blow to face from Sakura's pipe. He stumbled back and she quickly grabbed the frame of the window, swinging in feet first and pushing him further back.

She swung back out, not willing to get trapped in the room, and crouched on the ledge waiting for him to come out again. From inside, the beast's battle cry echoed out into the darkness that encircled the building.

The wall on either side of her suddenly exploded as the beast's two tentacles pushed through them. Sakura cursed silently, realizing it was evolving away from the Itachi persona into the fearsome form they had met at the school yard.

She jumped up as one of them swung at her, barely landing back on the ledge just as the second one swept at her. She leaned backwards, watching as it swept just above her chest. She quickly righted herself and found herself face to face with the melting visage of Itachi.

"Hello there," he smiled, the tatters of his Akatsuki resembling a destroyed night sky. The old Anbu outfit was peeking out, as was the hilt of the katana on his back. "Have you seen my baby brother?"

Sakura's eyes were still wide as she tried to use the pipe to hit him on the side of the head. He caught her arm and she tried to punch with the other, only to have that one caught as well. Itachi smiled at her and Sakura snapped her head forward, connecting her forehead with his.

He let go immediately and she started to fall backward. She reached out desperately, pulling parts of his cloak off before finally grabbing something solid. The hilt dug into her hand and she gripped the window frame before pulling it free from the sheath.

The katana gleamed in the filtered light of the world, a dark red that made her look up and realize for the first time that the sky was the same as Itachi's cloak. Inside he howled in rage and Sakura knew she had pushed her luck for too long.

Quickly, foot over foot, she ran across the ledge, casting glances over her shoulder. The monster's limb finally moved, stretching towards her at a rapid pace. She stopped moving and gripped the katana clumsily.

She sliced at the limb and a stream of dark red blood burst through the wound. The creature reacted quickly, pulling back and suddenly swiping at her. Sakura took the hit and lost her balance, barely grabbing the ledge as she fell.

"SAKURA!" Naruto screamed.

She looked over and saw Naruto bending over the scaffolding, at least three floors down. He was too far away to help her. Which was why she was surprised to feel her arm gripped and steadied. She looked up and saw Sasuke straining to pull her up. He had obviously doubled back to help her.

"Give me your other hand!" he yelled, looking over at the window as the limbs retracted inside again.

Sakura looked up at him with a frown. He had suspected she wouldn't be able to handle things. It was why he hadn't gone ahead with Naruto this time or any other time he should have. He was certain that she was going to need help because it always turned out she did.

"Take the katana!" Sakura replied, holding it out instead.

"No!" he yelled. "Give your hand."

"It's the most useful weapon we have!"

He moved quickly, grabbing her by the wrist even as the blade sliced his forearm. He yanked her up unceremoniously onto the ledge. Sakura made sure she never let go of the katana, even as he dragged her onto the scaffolding.

"You're an idiot sometimes," he said once they had reached the scaffolding.

"I made a tactical decision," she retorted.

"You made an emotional one," he replied, pulling her down the stairs. "The katana isn't our best weapon. You and your intelligence are."

"Hey, nice sword!" Naruto called as they arrived.

Sakura blinked and looked at Sasuke with confusion. "Ah… yeah. But I don't know how to use it to well." She held it up to him. "It… it makes more sense for you to use it." Sasuke nodded and took the blade, not willing to let a trace of emotion show over the idea of holding his pseudo-brother's weapon. "I'll lead, Naruto and Hinata next and Sasuke covering the back."

She moved quickly, running down the spiraling fire escape. For a moment, she doubted that they'd ever reach the ground but the cracked pavement suddenly became visible beneath a thin layer of fog. The ladder was up but Sakura quickly remedied that by loosening the bolt and letting it fall.

She climbed down first, quickly scanning the area before helping the others. Naruto smiled in thanks and helped her with Hinata. The girl was still skittish but seemed to calm down when she reached the ground.

"I've never been… outside before," she whispered, pushing a hand through the fog. "It's… very…"

"Disturbing," Naruto said, looking up at the sky. He frowned and looked over at Sakura. "What now?"

Sakura pointed to the street. "We go back the way we came. So far everything in this world has been mirrored in the other one. If we go back the way we came… I don't know but maybe they'll be a way out of this."

"Just remember the wall," Naruto said as they walked to the street. "Don't want to get trapped there with that thing after us."

Sakura nodded and made to turn in the opposite direction. She paused momentarily when her footsteps echoed on what should have been concrete. She glanced down and saw that metal grating had replaced the pavement.

"What the hell is up with this place!" Naruto yelled. Hinata came to a stop the second she saw the ground.

"We… we can't stay here," she cried, starting to back up. Naruto grabbed her hand.

"We can't go back," he replied.

"The grating… we can't walk over it," she tried. Naruto tried to coax her back onto the road but she refused to budge.

Sasuke tried to tune out her protests. He just wanted to get away from the building and the monster inside as soon as possible. And in his determination to block out Hinata, he was the only one who heard the steady thumping coming from down the grate road.

"Quiet!" he ordered.

The group became silent and the rhythmic noise was suddenly very apparent. Worse it was coming right at them.

"There!" Sakura cried, pointing to movement under the grating.

Three monkey-like creatures were gripping the grating, their fingers poking through the holes, as they swung towards them. Their faces were deformed human ones, twisted in pain and rage.

"Run!" Naruto yelled grabbing Hinata and taking off. Sakura and Sasuke quickly followed.

"Which way?" Sasuke asked.

"Left!" Sakura replied, retracing her steps from before. In front of her, Naruto disappeared and Hinata followed suit. Sasuke managed to pull Sakura back before she fell off the edge.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried, kneeling down and peering over the edge. Just below her, Naruto was grasping the bent grating trying to hold on with one hand, Hinata just below him having barely grabbed onto his foot.

Sakura lost her orientation as she saw what the two were hanging over. A deep darkness seemed to go on forever beneath them, the bent grated road leading into endless oblivion. It had just stopped, cutting their root for escape.

"Sasuke! I need your help," Sakura said leaning down to pull them up. When she received no reply she tried to call him again.

Instead of him, the creature answered and Sakura watched with horror as it came lurching down the street, pulling up grating as it came. The creature was changing again, moving between the twisted form of Ino to the decaying one of Itachi before settling on the same mass of decaying flesh. The creatures from the beneath the grating were not safe from its rampage. Still holding onto the grates, they were flung against the walls of nearby buildings.

"Sakura, get them back up here," Sasuke barked before taking off towards the charging monster.

With a katana, Sasuke felt a bit more confident in taking on the beast. He kept his eyes on the two limbs, remembering the strength and flexibility they had. He didn't want to be caught up in them.

One shot at him and he barely managed to dive over it, landing into a roll and continuing his run towards the creature. It sensed his attention and quickly swung its limb back at him, bringing the second one with it. Knowing he couldn't jump this time, he slid to the ground, letting the attack pass over his head. He held the katana steady and let it slice into one of the limbs.

The creature howled in protest and Sasuke quickly stood up to survey the damage he had done. The two limbs were flailing, a thick black liquid was seeping from them. He smirked and started to approach them but was struck from behind.

The world spun and he saw stars as the effect of the attack hit him full force. When his vision cleared, he found himself trapped in the limb of a monster. He cursed, trying to understand how he could have lost track of them. He looked over and realized what had happened. The two limbs were still injured. The creature had simply grown another.

In the meantime, Sakura had given up on trying to pull the two of them up. She reached down on either side of Naruto's hand and began to pull the grated road back., glad for her natural strength. When she was sure of the strength she needed, she quickly began to backpedal, pulling the entire road with her.

Naruto and Hinata tumbled off the destroyed paneling. Sakura smiled and nodded at them.

"See that wasn't so hard," she smiled proudly. "Now, let's go help Sas…"

She suddenly disappeared backwards, a limb wrapped around her. "Sakura!" Naruto cried, watching as she was flung about like a doll.

He looked around and locked on to Sasuke, who also was trapped in a limb. That meant that the creature had used both its arms. Naruto charged, weaponless, knowing it was a stupid move with his arm but he knew Hinata couldn't fight it.

"Run Hinata!" he called before letting out a battle cry as he lunged at the creature. Before he could attack, the third limp caught him and brought him up into the air.

"No!" he screamed in frustration.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled back. He looked over at her to find her staring at the beast.

Eyes wide with horror, he watched as a fourth limb snaked from behind the beast. He started screaming in rage as it shot forward, aiming right for Hinata. Even as the limb tossed him through a nearby window he was still screaming. In some part of his mind he believed in the possibility that Hinata had survived.

But then the noise began and his eyes clamped shut in pain as the nightmare faded again.

* * *

**_Yeah there was a massive delay between releases. I'm trying to work on ways to make sure this doesn't happen again. Thank you for your patience._**


	5. Shopping Mall Normal

"Naruto?"

He opened his eyes slowly at her voice and looked over. Something hurt when he did and he paused for a moment to let his head clear.

"Easy," Sakura said softly.

"What happened?" he muttered from his space on the ground.

"The monster threw us into here and then…" she trailed off. Naruto looked at her eyes and frowned.

"He got her again," Naruto replied, slowly pushing himself off the ground. He took in the surroundings and frowned. Several people were staring at him.

"It's okay now," Sakura told them, helping Naruto stand. "We're sorry for the trouble we caused."

Naruto tried to add something but Sakura quickly dragged him outside the store and into the main hallway. "A shopping mall?" Naruto asked as he glanced around.

Sakura nodded. "It was really strange. I was asleep on the bench and then I saw you. Everyone was standing around you saying you had just fainted."

"And Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

Sakura shook her head. "I didn't see him."

"That's because I was on the other side." The two jumped and turned to see Sasuke standing there looking at them. "Look around, what does this remind you off?"

Sakura looked around, noting the row of shops that lined the second floor of the mall. "It's like the street we were just on," she whispered. "How much time passed this time?"

Sasuke glanced at his watch. "Two hours."

"So it's late evening now," Sakura said. "We need to start making notes. There has to be a pattern in here somewhere."

"There's a stationary store over there," Naruto pointed. The trio quickly went in that direction, purchasing some paper and writing utensils. On Naruto's suggestion, they ambled towards a food court and got something to eat while they hashed out the problem.

"So, where do we start?" Naruto asked, sipping from his drink.

"We start with the last thing we remember," Sakura said. "All of us woke up in the middle of class and none of us remembered getting there."

"Or several days before that," Sasuke added. "I remember a bit about yesterday but nothing concrete."

"Something about a trip," Naruto frowned, scratching his head. "Were we on a mission?"

"Maybe," Sakura whispered. "We're assuming that this is all an illusion. If we met a person who was highly skilled in genjutsu, he could have trapped us here."

"What about our bodies?" Naruto asked.

Sakura shrugged. "If he wanted to kill us, I think we would already be dead. And then the illusion wouldn't exist."

"What if we were captured," Sasuke suggested, trying not to sound too disgusted with the idea. "Could this be some form of torture?"

Sakura paused. "If it was torture without purpose, then yeah, it could be. Only, I don't see the point. Torture is really only used if they're trying to extract information from you and no one in this world has asked us about anything that would be of use to an enemy."

Sasuke frowned. "Unless they were just sadistic."

Sakura looked at him. "You said it yourself. There's no way Itachi could create a world this complex."

"I say forget how we got here," Naruto interjected. "Let's think about how the hell to get out."

Sakura switched her attention back to him. "You're right. Once we're out of here, we can deal with whoever put us here." She opened the notebook and gave him it with a pencil. "Every good genjutsu creates an illusion that makes the victim believe it's real. But humans can only create a certain level of complexity in an imaginary world. Things start to repeat and if we can find those repetitions then we can find a way to break out."

"In this world or the other?" Naruto asked.

"Both," Sakura replied. When he still looked confused she struggled to think of something to use an example.

"The monster," Sasuke stated. "Each time we've gone there, it's grown two extra limbs."

Sakura nodded to Naruto to write it down. "That's a good one. It's safe to say, if we end up in that world again, the monster will eventually have six limbs to worry about."

Naruto smiled as he continued to scribble. "And if we know that, it can't take us by surprise anymore and maybe we can save Hinata."

"That's another thing," Sakura said. "It's consistently after Hinata. That's how we can exit the nightmare world. Forcing someone in this world to see what is 'against the rules' sends us to it."

"So do we avoid that other world?" Naruto asked.

Sakura frowned. "I don't know. It's a horrible place but… it's the result of us trying to break the illusion. If we want to completely dispel this genjutsu it might have to be done from there."

"We should be more prepared though," Sasuke said.

"I agree, only it seems like we can't take our weapons from this world to the other and vice versa," Sakura said.

"Yeah, we could have used that axe from your house last time," Naruto added.

"Your house is here?" Sasuke inquired.

Sakura nodded hesitantly. "Everything from our lives is here."

"But reversed. Is that a pattern?" Naruto asked.

"It is," Sakura replied. "It's more of a pattern across our real world and this one."

"So maybe the answer is here," Sasuke said. Sakura and Naruto fell into silence as they contemplated it. As much as all three of them wanted to believe that the answer was not in the Nightmare, somewhere in the back of their minds, they knew it was their only way out.

"Naruto!"

Naruto blinked up and watched as his posse from school approached. They shot a few distasteful looks at Sakura and Sasuke before concentrating on him.

"Naru-kun," Tenten purred, quickly sitting on his lap. "Lose the rejects and come hang with us."

As discretely as possible, so as not to break the illusion, Naruto maneuvered himself out of the seat and away from her into a standing position. "Ah… I was just working on something," he laughed, shoving the notebook at Sasuke.

"If it's homework maybe you should stay," Kiba added.

"Its fine," Naruto said, making sure his tone was believable. "Let's just go."

The group moved away, leaving Sakura and Sasuke in silence. Sakura took the chance to just watch her blonde teammate, stifling a laugh at his antics. Even in such a grave situation, Naruto's natural self always came to the surface.

"It's exactly what he wanted," Sasuke said suddenly.

Sakura blinked and looked over at him. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"The popularity. Look at everyone staring at him. It's like his dream come true."

"Do you think… that's what this is?" Sakura whispered. He glared at her but she pressed on. "It's just… to have your brother... like in the picture…"

"And your dream is to be an unpopular, illiterate outcast?" he retorted.

Sakura flinched slightly. "I guess not."

"This isn't what we've always wanted," Sasuke continued. "It's just someone's twisted form of a joke."

She frowned and looked over at Naruto. "But he looks so happy." She looked back at Sasuke. "You don't think, that maybe, this could be Orochimaru?"

Sasuke paused for a few minutes. "No," he replied. "This isn't his style." He stood up. "We're wasting time. We should map out this area in case one of us trips the nightmare trap."

"Oh… okay…"

"You go left, I'll take right," he finished before walking away.

Sakura sat at the table with a little sigh. She had messed it up again. Of all the things to bring up, why did she have to remind Sasuke of his transgression against them? It only ever pissed him off to be reminded of that.

She finally got up and started to wander the mall in the direction he had ordered her. Reaching the other end, she looked down the long corridor and realized it was the furthest from him she could be in this situation. That was probably what he wanted.

With a sigh, she leaned back only to press down on the handle of a door. It creaked a bit but swung backwards, revealing a back hallway. She peeked inside and made sure no one was coming. When the coast was clear, she slipped through.

The walls were monochromatic, the dull beige color that was used in most maintenance areas in Konoha. She moved silently down the hall, trying to avoid anyone who might show up. But there was no one around. The steady rumble of the heating system drowned out any noise from the mall itself.

She retraced the map in her mind and tried to follow a path that should lead her across the mall. With any luck, she could exit at the end Sasuke should be in.

Something down the hall fell onto the ground and she moved quickly behind a stack of boxes. She glanced around for anything that might be used as a weapon and found a mop left near the boxes. A quick movement and she had the ragged thing in her hands, preparing for an attack.

A shadow fell on the floor and she waited as it grew longer. A shoe appeared and she attacked only to find it repelled. She was pushed back against the wall and struggled a bit before the familiar voice cut in the air.

"Sakura."

She blinked and looked up at her attacker. Sasuke frowned as he pressed his hands against her mouth to prevent her from screaming. "You found a door too?" he asked. She nodded. "There was someone in one of the rooms down the hall so don't make a sound." She nodded again and he slowly let his hand drop.

He took her arm and slowly led her around the boxes until they reached a corner. He pointed around the corner and she quickly leaned over him to get a look. Sure enough, there was an office down the way, television blaring. The sign over the door was garbled to her but Sasuke saw her confusion.

"Security," he whispered. "If we can get in there, there are probably cameras all over the place that we could use to…"

"Hey!"

Sakura jumped at the strange voice but Sasuke simply grabbed her hand and started down the hall. Over her shoulder, Sakura could see the security guard yelling at them as they tried to get away. For a moment, Sakura thought she recognized the face but Sasuke had already pulled her outside the door and back into the main mall.

They moved quickly, hiding in a nearby clothing shop and waited until the security guard had passed. Sakura let out a sigh as soon as he was gone and looked to Sasuke for his next direction. But he was staring at the woman at the counter.

Sakura eyed the woman carefully before she saw why Sasuke had paused. There were subtle things mostly, the color of her eyes, the shock of blonde hair, even the structure of her face. It was like Naruto's sexy no jutsu in middle age form.

"Oh!" she jumped seeing the two of them. "I know you," she smiled. "You're some of Naruto-kun's classmates aren't you."

Somehow Sakura managed to nod in response. The woman's smile increased and nodded. "I thought that was you, Haruno-san. I'm sorry about your parents," she said softly. Sasuke looked over at her but Sakura had bowed in thanks.

"You haven't seen my son have you?" she asked.

Sakura was dumbfounded but Sasuke managed to get an answer out. "Not for a while."

She nodded. "It's fine. His father went to look for him. I'm sure they'll find each other." She walked forward a bit and put a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "If you need anything, please let us know."

Sakura couldn't respond, she just watched the beautiful woman leave and stood there like a fool.

"We need to find Naruto," Sasuke stated, his voice relaying his own discomfort with the situation.

He started to walk away but Sakura grabbed his hand. "Should we?" she asked. "I mean… that woman… she's probably everything Naruto wanted his mother to be."

"So?"

"So shouldn't we… at least let him get the chance to see her." She said. "I don't think that it would trigger the nightmare."

He looked at her as he thought over the situation. It was all an illusion, he repeated to himself. These parents of Naruto's were no more real then Itachi had been. And the lie could hurt more then the truth.

"No," he said finally.

"Why not?" she asked.

He paused, trying to find a way to convince her but only the truth came to his head. "Because he shouldn't have to see what could have been."

Sakura blinked and looked at him. "Sasuke-kun…" she whispered realized he was talking about himself as well. He didn't say anything but waited for her to speak first. She did so with a firm nod. "Let's go find him, then."

They left the store and it wasn't until several minutes later that she realized she'd never let go of Sasuke or more importantly, he had never tried to get her to.

"There," Sasuke said, motioning to the crowd bustling through the mall. Naruto was barely visible in the middle of group but his laughter trickled down to them. Quickly, they found the nearest escalator and bounded up to him.

"Naruto!" Sasuke called just as he felt Sakura being ripped away from him.

He turned around and came face to face with the security guard. A long scar ran across his face and he was gripping Sakura tightly enough to make her eyes water.

"Iruka…" Sasuke whispered.

"Damn teenagers," Iruka spat. "Always causing problems. They should lock you all up until you're adults."

"Let me go," Sakura cried, trying to get free but only succeeding in hurting herself more. Sasuke advanced but Iruka had grabbed the night club at his side and hit him across the face.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried.

"Did you see that?" Iruka demanded of her. "He tried to attack me!" he continued to yell, making sure the people in the mall had heard him. Sasuke tried to stand up but Iruka was faster, tossing Sakura away and against the guard rail.

He raised the club to attack again but someone caught his arm. Iruka looked down and found Naruto digging into his hand.

"Fuck what happens," Naruto said, smashing his fist into Iruka's cheek. "You're not him." Naruto yelled, kicking the fallen guard in the side. "Get out of his body, you monster. Bring the nightmare on, I want to be able to kick your ass for thinking you could use Iruka-sensei like that."

Iruka smiled beneath the blood and the world started to warp. The noise came next and Naruto fell to the ground never losing his stare with the pseudo-Iruka and never seeing the tall blonde man behind them trying to call out to his son.


	6. Shopping Mall Nightmare

**Shopping Mall - Nightmare**

"Naruto."

He turned his head painfully and looked at his teammate. Sasuke frowned, waiting for him to sit up.

"So what's your plan?" Sasuke asked, the sarcasm evident in his voice.

"Shut up," Naruto responded.

"Well, you went ahead and forced this to happen."

"Excuse me for acting irrationally," Naruto spat back at him.

"Cut it out!" Sakura jumped in. "We don't have time to argue. We have only a limited amount of time here before that thing comes after us again."

"What are you thinking?" Sasuke inquired, switching his attention from Naruto to her.

"We need to find Hinata first," Sakura stated. "As long as she's alive, this world will remain intact."

"That's what we want?" Naruto asked.

Sakura nodded. "For the moment. We've been running in this world without really understanding it. Sasuke-kun and I explored the mall in the normal world so we can see how things match up here."

Naruto nodded, slowly getting the idea. "So we need to find Hinata, explore the world and then what?"

"Kill the beast," Sasuke stated before Sakura could answer.

"Ah, that's an idea I can understand," Naruto smiled.

Sakura looked at both of them with a small frown. "Just remember, it keeps growing two extra arms."

"We'll have to get it this time," Sasuke added. "The longer this lasts, the harder it will be to defeat."

"Che, I could take that thing on any day of the week," Naruto gloated, earning him a bop on the head from Sakura.

"Idiot, you already faced it twice and both times it whooped your ass," she sighed, looking down the halls. "Naruto, you look for Hinata. Sasuke and I will start mapping the halls here. Anything that looks like a weapon pick up. We'll need all the help we can get."

They nodded at each other and went their separate ways. Naruto walked into the nearest store and started to look around. It had obviously been a clothing store once but it was in severe disrepair now. He tried to pick up a shirt off the rack and it dissolved into dust the second he touched it.

He checked every corner of the store until he was satisfied Hinata wasn't there. Behind the cash register was a long pole, probably used to put clothes on the wall hooks. He knelt down and touched it, relieved that it remained solid.

There was a noise and Naruto tensed. He slowly poked his head around the side of cash register. The store was still empty and nothing had been disturbed. He was about to continue when he heard it again.

It was a hard sound to place, something between a whine and a skittering bug. His hand still gripped on the pole, he stood up, prepared to face whatever it was. But the store was still empty.

One of the racks tipped over and came crashing to the ground. Naruto's brow furrowed and he charged forward, no longer afraid of whatever it was. He raised the pole high above his head and prepared to strike.

Hinata cried out and covered her head to protect herself but Naruto quickly let down his guard. "Hey," he said softly. "You okay?"

She blinked and looked again. "It's you. It's always you that finds me." Her blank eyes stared up at him, still rimmed pink from crying and carrying black bags beneath them. Her pallid arm reached out slowly. "I don't even know if you're real," she whispered.

He grabbed her hand. "I am," he said firmly. "And this time, we're getting you out of here."

Her eyes welled up with tears. "Don't… please don't try again. You'll get hurt this time. He's gotten angry, angrier then I've ever seen him."

"Good," Naruto stated. "Because I'm pretty pissed at him myself."

"Please," she begged. "You don't understand. You can't stop him. It's always going to be the same. There's nothing you can do and I don't want…I don't want you to get hurt too."

Naruto's face softened. "I'll be okay. It takes a lot more to hurt me than that. Come on, my friends are all looking for you."

Hinata nodded slightly, letting Naruto help her up. He reached down to grab the pole when he heard the noise again. Looking up, he saw the panic on Hinata's face. He followed her gaze to the other side of the store.

It was no wonder he hadn't seen it before. He'd been looking for something that would be visible above the racks. The wretched creature on the ground resembled a human that was mangled and bent backwards, forcing all four limbs onto the ground.

It attacked and Naruto barely had time to push Hinata out of the way. Despite moving in a deformed crawl-walk, it had speed and it hit his leg, sending him to the ground. A second later, teeth sank into his shoulder and Hinata screamed.

The pole useless in this close of a fight, he curled his fist and started to pummel it until it released its grip on his shoulder. He followed with a swift kick, sending the creature back several meters. He rolled to standing and grabbed the pole, thrusting it downward just as the creature attacked again. Trapped to the ground by his attack, the creature writhed as it tried to escape. Naruto didn't pause before smashing his foot onto the part that looked like its head.

The creature stopped and Naruto yanked the pole free, only to feel his shoulder explode in pain. He stumbled to the wall and Hinata rushed over to examine the wound.

"You're hurt," she cried.

"I'll be fine," he said, trying not to cringe.

"You won't. It'll just get worse." She took a few steps backward and Naruto reached out to stop her. She tried to wiggle free. "If I stay, they'll come for me and you'll get hurt worse. Let me go."

"No," he said through clenched teeth. "Not again." His grip loosened a bit as a sudden wave of dizziness hit him. "Not…" And then the world went dark.

Sasuke had prided himself on being one of the best ninja in the world. And that was before he had been lured by Orochimaru to a dark path he didn't like to think of. He was stronger then he had ever been but weaker in some ways too. Returning to Konoha had only been partly his decision. Most people there had branded him a traitor and were ready to turn what once was praise into open scorn.

Then there had been his two teammates, who had seemed happy to have him back. Naruto had taken up their rivalry again the moment he had gotten back. And Sakura had fallen back into his shadow, trailing him with her incessant "Sasuke-kuns."

But he had seen past that, into the years that haunted them too. They wanted it to be the same but it couldn't be. They had all changed in the years they were separated. They could never be the old Team 7 no matter how hard they pretended.

And yet, he never spoke this out loud to either of them. That was what made him weak. Because somewhere, in a place he refused to acknowledge, he wanted it to be like it was, too.

With a huff, he determined that the stress of this world was affecting his thoughts. He returned his concentration to the task at hand, mentally tallying the stores as he passed them by. The windows had been smashed and the signs were rusted to a maroon color. The lettering was barely visible but he could tell that they were the same.

This world was an exact mirror of the other, just draped with a blanket of decay and death. He reached the staff door at the other end and turned the handle, finding it unlocked.

The interior was worse then the rest of the mall. The floors, ceiling and walls had been replaced with grating making the hallway look like an elongated cage. He looked down at the grating, half expecting the same monkey beast from before to be there.

There was a noise behind him and Sasuke jumped, looking back into the main mall. The lighting made it difficult to see anything but he let his hearing pull his eyes to the right direction.

On the second level, something was gripping the railing, slowly pulling itself over. The twisted human form began to slide across the railing, using all four limbs to traverse it. It paused for a minute before slowly turning its head to face him.

It let out a chittering cry that echoed in the empty halls. Sasuke's grip on the door frame tightened. He was weaponless but if it came down to it, he could take on the creature hand to hand.

Suddenly from the darkness a dozen calls answered the creature's and Sasuke frowned. There was no way he could deal with that many at once. He slipped into the staff hallway and shut the door. It clicked behind him and he tried to open it again only to find it had locked shut.

At least that meant that creatures couldn't follow him, he thought grimly as he storde down the hall. He feet echoed on the grating and he tried to keep his mind focused ahead, not daring to looking down or up at the endless darkness.

The hall split and he recalled the security office was nearby. Slowly, he turned the corner and headed towards the only solid wall. The door was still there and he turned the knob, satisfied that it opened easily.

Inside there were several monitors lit up, showing various places in the mall. He examined each of them, taking note of the one showing the spot in the mall from which he had entered here. A group of creatures was milling about trying to get in, butting uselessly against the door. If the situation hadn't been so grave it would have been comical.

And suddenly they all stopped moving, heads turned up as if listening. Something called them and they scurried quickly away from the door and into the darkness. Sasuke followed their progress across several monitors, watching as they traversed the mall.

The frown on his face grew when he realized where they were heading. And worse, most of the monitors on that side were displaying snow. Frustrated, he hit one as if the jolt would bring the picture back.

Much to his surprise, it worked and the screen began to display the image of the other end of the mall. He saw Sakura at the door. She was pulling at it but it refused to budge. A creature appeared behind her and his eyes opened wide. She didn't see it. She was still pulling on the door.

Three more appeared suddenly and she turned around. Nothing was in her hands but she slowly slipped into a fighting stance. The first one attacked and she punched it away. The next two came at once and she fended them off as best as she could but the last one jumped forward and got her leg. Blood began to spurt out from the wound. She faltered and started to fall down just as several more creatures appeared.

Sasuke left the room in a hurry and began to run down to the other door. The hallway seemed to go on forever but after a while, he heard her, screaming in pain. He could only imagine what was happening.

Finally, the door appeared and he slammed into it, only to be thrown back. He pushed again but it was jammed shut. He took his shoulder to it and still it refused to budge. The screams outside were getting louder and from underneath the door a pool of dark red blood was draining through the grate on his side.

"Sakura!" he yelled, slamming into the door again. Something in his arm began to protest but he didn't care. He just kept pushing again, trying to drown out her screams with his own calls.

The door suddenly opened and he stumbled forward, running into something soft when he did.

"Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke gripped her tightly, looking at her with wild eyes, searching for any signs of injury. She repeated her inquiry trying to keep the worry out of her voice at his current state of panic.

"The screams," he said, looking back at where he had come from only to find the grating clean of any blood. "They were… eating you alive."

Sakura blinked, trying to hide her own fear at what he just said. "It's okay… it was just an illusion," she said slowly.

He shook his head, trying to get rid of the images in his mind. But they stuck there, forcing his heart to continue racing in panic.

"Your arm," she cried, suddenly noticing the odd angle it was in. At her words he suddenly came back to the present, realizing the overwhelming pain that was coming from his arm.

"Don't move, I'll go get some supplies from…"

Before she could move away, he had grabbed her with his good arm. She looked at his face, studying the expression there. He didn't need to say it. Whatever had happened, he was obviously unwilling to let her go off by herself.

"It's over here," she said, trying to smile a bit to reassure him as she led him to the fabric store. "Most of it is just dust but I think there are enough pieces to make a splint."

He nodded dumbly and slid down against the wall to a seated position. He watched as she scurried about, trying to erase the images he had imagined with the ones he was seeing now. The way she blew at her hair every time a piece of fabric disintegrated without leaving her anything to use. The way her lips moved as she spoke to herself. The way her eyebrows arched down dangerously when she realized her actions were futile.

"There's nothing here," she sighed. She shook her head and slipped off the school jacket she wore, leaving just the button down white shirt there. "I think I can use this," she said softly, going to work.

He watched as she slipped his arm into the bulk of the jacket. She slowly tied the sleeves around his neck and then started to secure his arm.

Years ago, this sort of close contact would have made her giddy, Sasuke knew that. But now, she was working with a professionalism he never knew existed in her. He realized that she wasn't the genin he remembered or that she pretended to be. She had grown up. And he… he was no longer the object of her affection.

He was something broken to her, something she wanted to fix and she thought that by acting as though nothing had ever happened, she could help. But it was a lie. He knew now that there was nothing behind her actions anymore. She was doing in out of a mixture of regret and sadness, not any form of love. He had lost her and worse, he regretted it.

"There," she said with a smile. "All set."

He nodded slowly and reached forward with his good arm, pushing a strand of her pink hair away from her eye.

"Sasuke?" she asked, surprised at his action.

And there it was. No "kun," but the real way she looked at him. And for a second, it hurt worse then his arm.

"We should move," he said softly, starting to stand.

"Let me help," she replied, taking his good arm and helping him up.

"Did you find anything to use as a weapon?" he asked.

"There was nothing that stayed together long enough," she frowned. "I think it's getting worse."

"Worse?"

She nodded. "The world is falling apart. Before, things could retain their shape when we interacted with them."

"There are fewer walls as well," he added. "It's being replaced by grating mostly."

"We need to find a way out of this place fast," she noted grimly.

"What happens if the illusion does crumble?"

"If we're still in it…" She trailed off and shook her head. "It's hypothetical. Let's find Naruto and hope he's found Hinata."

They proceed slowly, still searching for anything that could be used as a weapon. They didn't dare call out Naruto's name for fear of attracting the monsters, so they were reduced to searching each store.

"What's that?" Sakura asked suddenly, forcing Sasuke's attention to a tall glass elevator shaft. Inside one of the cars was a shock of blond hair that could have only belonged to Naruto.

Sakura walked around to find the doors, jamming her fingers into the tiny crack to push the doors open. Sasuke pounded on the door, trying to get Naruto's attention. It might attract more monsters but from where he was, Sasuke could see the white bandages that were wrapped around Naruto's arm.

Sakura finally pried the doors open and rushed inside, shaking Naruto until he woke up.

"What?" he asked, coming out of his unconscious state.

"Naruto! Wake up!" Sakura ordered as she quickly checked over his wounds.

"Hinata?" he said suddenly, looking around. "Where am I?"

"In an elevator," Sakura replied.

"She… she must have put me here," he started. "Shit! I was hurt and she thought it was her fault."

"It was a good place," Sakura interrupted. "The creatures couldn't get to you in here."

"Why the fuck didn't she stay with me then?" he demanded.

Sakura didn't answer but something else did. The all too familiar cry of the beast suddenly reverberated through the mall. Sasuke looked around, trying to place the source as Sakura helped Naruto out of the elevator.

"Where is it?" she asked, seeing the confusion on Sasuke's face.

"It sounds like… it's above us."

The trio looked up at the skylight above them. A shadow crossed it and they managed to move just before the glass exploded.

The beast landed on the ground with loud yell. The last remnants of Iruka were already fading, peeling off like a snake sheds it skin. It turned to them with a wicked look on its face and howled.

"Take cover!" Sakura cried, dragging Naruto out of the way just as the first appendage lanced towards them. It pierced the glass shaft and the entire thing came apart, raining down glass shards.

"Naruto!" Sakura called, seeing his eyes flutter. "Stay awake!"

"Hi… Hinata…"

"Where is she, Naruto?"

The beast roared as if annoyed it was being ignored. With one limb still wrapped around the metal of the elevator, two others shot forward at them and the fourth went the opposite direction after Sasuke.

Sakura ducked but the second one got around Naruto and lifted him off the ground.

"NARUTO!" Sakura screamed, watching him disappear from her view.

"Sakura!"

She turned and saw Sasuke throwing what looked like a pole at her. She grabbed it and steadied it in her hand.

"It was just outside the shaft," Sasuke said, coming up behind her.

Sakura nodded and brought up any knowledge she had on bo fighting. "It got Naruto," she added, pointing to where he was trapped.

"You'll need to free him," Sasuke replied. "I can't fight with this arm. So I'll just distract it."

"What?" Sakura demanded.

"The other two limbs, look, it's already starting to grow them." Sakura turned and saw the tell-tale signs of something trying to push its way from beneath the beast's skin.

"GO!" Sasuke yelled, taking off and running towards the beast. It attacked but Sasuke was too fast, nimbly dodging the first two limbs.

Sakura frowned but followed his plan anyway. She needed to get up to the second flight to reach Naruto but the stairs were far away. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed the metal part of the elevator shaft and started to pull herself up while avoiding the remaining glass.

Sasuke did his job well, the beast didn't pay attention to her until she made it to the second level. Then it realized the threat and tried to attack just as she dove for cover behind the railing.

The limb hit the railing and pushed it free, propelling her towards the wall. She let it take her, sliding on her rear with her feet outstretched. The moment her feet hit the wall she pushed off the ground with one and used the second as leverage on the wall to push herself into a flip.

Sakura arced in the air briefly, avoiding the crushed railing and landing on the beast's limb. She ran down the length of it, trying to reach the one that held Naruto. The boy was still limp in the monster's grip and she called his name out, hoping it would rouse him.

Blue eyes blinked open and stared at her, suddenly shifting past where she was to where she had been. Sakura turned her head at his movement and cried out when she saw the familiar figure walking towards them.

Hinata shuffled slowly, the white robe around her fluttering slightly as she did. Sakura reversed her course and tried to get back to Hinata as fast as she could. She heard the beast roar and dove into the other girl, pushing them both out of the way of its attack.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura demanded.

Hinata looked at her and Sakura realized she had been crying. "You keep getting hurt because of me. I can't let you do that anymore."

She tried to squirm free but Sakura held her fast. "Stop talking like that. We need you."

"No," Hinata cried, the tears reappearing, "you don't. I can only hurt him… hurt you."

"That's bullshit, there's a way, there has to be a way."

"Let me go," Hinata replied softly. "The longer you keep me away from him, the more you will get hurt."

"No! I won't…"

"SAKURA!"

Sakura turned around and found that the beast had captured Sasuke. He writhed for a moment but then slumped forward. Sakura stood up to go after them, only realizing her mistake too late.

Hinata stood up and ran to the edge of the level where the beast had torn away the railing. The beast roared and shot a limb forward. Sakura tried to protect the girl again but it was too late, the limb pierced through her and the beast howled in victory.

The noise brought Sakura to her knees but she managed to get one last glance at Hinata. Her eyes were still moist from the tears and she moved her lips slowly, making sure that Sakura understood.

Do not come back.

And then the world went black.


	7. Hospital Normal

"Hinata!"

Sakura jolted awake, desperately searching for the girl. How could she have done that? Why would she just give up like that? A sob caught in her throat as she saw images of Hinata getting killed again in her mind.

She tried to stand up and found something pulling in her arm. The pain was intense and she cried out, suddenly aware that she was no longer in the mall at all. A thin plastic tube ran from the needle in her arm up to an IV.

Sakura forced herself to calm down as she took in the surroundings. White walls, white ceiling, white floor. The sterile smell in the air was the last clue she needed. A hospital, they had ended up in a hospital.

"Naruto," she whispered remembering how he had fallen unconscious before the end.

"He's fine."

Sakura blinked and found Sasuke standing at the door, his arm in a cast and sling. He walked towards her slowly, eyes mainly on the ground.

"They said he needed some more rest," Sasuke reported. "Same as you. Something about food poisoning in the mall or something."

Sakura nodded slowly, absent-mindedly rubbing the needle in her arm.

"Stop that," Sasuke ordered. She jumped a bit as he grabbed her wrist. "You're the medic in the group; you should know that's bad." He took a tissue from the box at her bedside. Pressing down on her hand, he pulled the needle out.

She watched him until he took her other hand and placed it on the tissue. He moved stiffly, like there was something on his mind. She wanted to ask what was wrong but he stepped back towards the door suddenly.

"Get changed – we need to find Naruto as soon as possible,"

Sakura nodded dumbly and slowly climbed out of the bed. She looked around and found the remains of her uniform. She slowly pulled up the skirt, noting that her legs were cut up and stiff. Putting on the shirt wasn't any easier. It felt like every thread of cotton was a metal spike that raked against her injured skin.

There was a cough at the door and she looked up from her buttoning.

"Your jacket," Sasuke muttered. "They took it off me when they put the cast on."

She nodded and took it from his outstretched hand. She slipped it on carefully, trying not to wince too much.

"Are you okay?" He asked, closing the door behind him.

Sakura didn't know how to answer. She knew she couldn't lie. But at the same time, she didn't want to be seen as weak.

"I just wish," she said softly. "I wish I could still use some jutsus is all."

The door opened suddenly and a nurse walked in, clipboard in hand. "You're not supposed to be out of bed," she snapped.

Sakura smiled and shook her head. "I'm fine now. I'm sorry for all the trouble that I caused."

The nurse frowned. "Yes, well, that still doesn't change the fact that you have not been cleared by the doctor and are therefore supposed to remain in bed." She looked over at Sasuke. "And you… you're the one with the broken arm. Why are you not in your room?"

Sasuke shot Sakura a look and she nodded slowly. He grabbed her arm and pulled her out the door, pushing the nurse out of the way. The woman started screaming for security and they could hear it even as they turned the corner of the hall.

"Into the staircase," Sasuke ordered, motioning to the door. Sakura let go of his arm and pushed the door open, letting him in before slamming it shut.

"Naruto wasn't on your floor," he said, jogging up the flight of stairs. "There are three levels of patient rooms so we'll just have to search them all until we find him."

He pushed the next level's door open with his shoulder and stepped outside. Sakura was directly behind him and didn't have enough time to stop herself from colliding into him when he came to a halt.

"Sasuke-kun?" she asked, taking a step back and looking around.

The entire floor was deserted, save a few empty wheelchairs. Unlike the level they had just left, there was no activity here. There were no nurses or doctors performing rounds or visitors stopping in to check on patients. The air was stale and most of the hallway lights were out.

"Did we trigger the other world?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura shook her head. "We can't have. There was no blackout period."

"Then what is this?"

Sakura bit her lip. "Before, in the nightmare, it was becoming clear that that world was falling apart. I think that this one too is also beginning to unravel."

He frowned and took a few steps forward, eyeing the wheelchair. "So we're running out of time."

She looked around nervously. "If the worlds are degrading to the point that the boundary between them is become blurred, I think that we maybe have one or two more switches before everything collapses."

"Collapses?"

"If this is indeed a genjutsu then the spell is weakening. I don't know if it's because we've been forcing it to compensate for our disbelief or if this was the nature of the illusion itself, to trap us here and…" She trailed off. It wasn't something that needed to be spoken out loud. Getting trapped here would effectively leave their real world selves brain dead.

There was a squeaking noise and Sakura jumped, stepping closer to Sasuke. They looked down the hall and saw one of the wheelchairs moving slowly into one of the rooms. They shared a glance before following it.

The room itself was laid out exactly like the room Sakura had woken up in. The only addition was a desk in the corner. Sasuke examined the wheelchair while Sakura walked to the desk.

She ran her fingers against the cool wood and opened a drawer. Inside was a red journal, covered in leather with pages that had been tinged yellow with age. She opened it up and found most of the pages were filled with delicate writing.

"Sasuke…" she whispered. "Look."

He turned to face her and eyed the book in her hand. "What is it?"

"A journal," she replied. "And… I can read it." His brow furrowed as he watched her eyes glance down and trace the words.

"December 12," she read out loud. "I arrived at the hospital today. Father is very worried but the doctors tell him I should be okay. Neji-nii-san was so upset he cried and they had to leave early."

"Neji-nii-san?" Sasuke repeated. "That's what Hinata calls her cousin isn't it."

Sakura nodded as she flipped through the pages. "January 27. The doctors say the disease has progressed rapidly. The antibiotics aren't working and worse, they've caused my skin to blister and peel."

Sasuke moved to where Sakura was standing and looked over her shoulder as she read the pages.

"February 2. I keep hoping to wake up. This has to be a nightmare. The drugs make the doctors and nurses look like monsters. Even the walls look like they're bleeding sometimes. I begged Father to let me go home but he said I needed to get better. I know that's what he really wants so I decided to stay."

"What does it mean?" he asked.

"I guess she was really sick and…"

"No," he interrupted. "It's more then that. More then just Hinata and her being here. Why is this the only thing you can read?" Sakura could only shake her head. "Turn more towards the end."

She nodded and began to flip through the pages. The lettering became less neat and more frantic. There were drawings suddenly, uneasy attempts to draw the things that were haunting her. And then suddenly the pages went blank.

Sakura turned a few pages back and realized the writing on the pages had returned to normal.

"September 1," she whispered. "I know it's over. Father speaks softly to the doctors now. No more yelling, no more pleading. Neji-nii-san doesn't cry anymore, he just sits silently and doesn't know what to say. There are no more drugs, no more tests. This is what I wanted from the beginning. I think this is all I ever wanted. Peace, finally, peace."

Sakura closed the book slowly. Sasuke could only stare at her fingers as they traced the binding of the book. He didn't understand and it infuriated him. This journal was obviously a clue, possibly the key to the entire mystery. It was right in front of him and he didn't know what it meant.

There was a noise and they both jumped. The room was empty save for them, and when they heard it again it was clearly coming from across the hall. Sasuke edged towards the door, Sakura right behind him. He sent her a few hand signals and she nodded in understanding.

He counted down silently and they both looked outside, checking either side of the door to see if the hallway was clear. They both ducked back inside a second later. It was all clear in the halls at least.

Sasuke started to advance to the room across the way but Sakura caught his arm. He glared at her but she firmly pointed at his arm. His eyes narrowed but she held her ground.

"What the hell?"

Sakura and Sasuke both blinked at the voice.

"OI! Get me out of this thing!"

No longer worried about the danger across the hall, the two dashed to the other room. Naruto was there, struggling to get free of tightly tucked bed sheets.

"Stop moving!" Sakura ordered, quickly pulling the sheets free. "Only you would get defeated by a bed!"

Naruto's cheeks turned red but he let her work around him. He heard the snicker from Sasuke though and that brought back his anger full force. He was about to charge his teammate but the pain in his shoulder made him stop.

He looked down at the bandages with surprise. There was a faint red tint to them and Sakura let out an exasperated sigh.

"You need to be more careful. That wound is obviously going to take time to heal," she lectured.

He just looked at the bandages. "It never did before."

Sakura slowed her actions a bit and carefully examined the wound. She knew Naruto could normally bounce back from most things in a matter of hours.

"You'll be fine," Sasuke snapped. "We have bigger things to worry about now."

Sakura quickly filled Naruto in on what they had found. His face didn't change but the self pity in his eyes was gone. After she was done, the three of them sat in silence for a few moments digesting the information.

"So," Naruto said. "We're running out of time."

Sakura nodded. "We need to finish this soon."

"Hinata has to be the key," Sasuke added. "If we can keep her alive and kill the beast, then it should end the illusion. We just need a better plan."

"There will be eight appendages this time," Sakura stated. "Without weapons or jutsu, we need to think of a better way of controlling them."

"We have to stop them from flailing around," Naruto replied, bringing his teammates to a stunned silence. "What? Think about it. Every time we get defeated it's because we get knocked around by them."

"He's right," Sakura smiled. "We need to pin them down somehow, keep them from moving."

"A few well placed kunai would work, we just don't have any," Sasuke added.

Sakura stood up from the bed and looked around the room. "We can improvise." She eyed the stand holding an IV bag and nodded to herself. "A few of these can make improvised spears."

Sasuke walked over and wrapped his hand around the stand. "It could work." He moved it a bit and it squeaked in protest as he pulled it free from its base. He balanced it in his hand and nodded with satisfaction.

Sakura carefully untangled Naruto from the mess of tubes and wires. The IV needle had torn his skin during his attempts to get free but for the most part, he was largely unharmed save for the wrapped shoulder wound.

She helped him off the bed just in time to see Sasuke tense up behind her. She was about to ask him what was wrong but he held up his hand to keep them silent. It took a few moments of stillness before she could recognize the squeaking noise.

It became progressively louder, a steady crescendo of whining. Sasuke gripped the pole in his hand and eyed the door, waiting for the enemy to show themselves.

A solitary wheel chair appeared at the edge of the door frame, wheels protesting the movement as it did. It came to a pause in front of the door, as if examining the inhabitants inside before it continued on its way.

"All in favor of leaving the floor with the freaky wheelchairs?" Naruto asked, receiving silent ayes from his teammates as they ran out the door. Sasuke reached the stairway first and tugged the door only to find it was held shut.

"What the hell?" he demanded, pulling harder.

"It's locked?" Sakura asked, watching him struggle. The only response she got was him kicking the door in frustration.

"Elevator?" Naruto asked.

"It must be at the other end of the hall," Sakura replied.

"Let's go," Sasuke stated, turning around to lead them. But no more then two steps into it, he came to an abrupt halt. The metal pole moved in his hands as he examined the situation.

The entire hallway was filled with wheelchairs. None of them were moving but there was something ominous about the way they suddenly appeared. Sakura shifted behind him nervously while Naruto turned to examine the hall behind them.

"What the hell," he whispered, finding a similar situation. "Where did they all come from?"

One of the chair moved suddenly a few inches forward, making a noise that made Sakura jump. "We need to get out of here," she whispered.

"Any suggestions on how?" Sasuke snapped back.

She looked around frantically for another way out just as a few more chairs began to roll forward. Her eyes rested on a grate just a few feet away.

"Air ducts," she said softly. Naruto and Sasuke followed her gaze. She made the first move, slowly sliding along the wall until she reached the grate. A careful tug showed it was fairly well wedged in place.

Sasuke stepped forward and drove the spear through one of the grate's holes. He leaned forward and pushed with his weight until it snapped open. The noise seemed to startle the wheel chairs and they all began moving, picking up speed as they headed towards the trio.

Sakura dove in first, followed quickly by Naruto. Sasuke slid the staff into the duct and grabbed the grating before he went in himself. He closed the duct again, knowing that nothing could follow them but not wanting to take the chance.

Sakura slide forward, trying to navigate the turns of the air ducts until she was forced to admit to herself that she had no way of knowing where she was going.

"Ah… guys?" she asked, trying to turn her head to see them. "Which way am I supposed to be going?"

"Towards an exit," Sasuke muttered.

"Obviously," Sakura retorted. "But which way? Up, down, left right?"

"Down," Sasuke replied. "We need to go down."

Before Sakura could answer her, the duct began to whine. She looked around, noting that the stop in their advance had placed pressure on the metal. It began to bend downward as the bolts holding it in place started to leave their sockets.

"Oh… damn," she whispered just as the metal buckled and they crashed downward.

It hurt to suddenly meet the ground but the fall had been relatively short. Sakura pushed the debris of the air duct off of herself and looked around. They had gone down indeed, right into the middle of the lobby of the floor below them.

"Ah… guys?" she asked, looking at all the faces staring at them.

"What's going on here?" a woman demanded.

It took a second to recognize her but Sakura finally managed to place the face. The flat- chested, elderly, blonde-haired doctor in front of them was easily distinguishable by the pendant around her neck.

"Shishou," Sakura whispered.

Before Tsunade could answer, Sasuke swung at her with the staff, aiming right for the head so that that it snapped back violently.

"What the hell?" Naruto cried.

But then he heard it and realized what Sasuke was doing. Getting to the other world always required forcing some one in this one to question reality. As the bloodied Tsunade turned back toward them, the look on her face made it obvious that the trick had worked. That, and the dull noise growing in the background.

"Why did… why would…" Tsunade sputtered.

But her words were drowned out as darkness descended on the trio once more.


	8. Hospital Nightmare

"Sakura."

Her eyes snapped open and she looked up at the voice. Sasuke and Naruto both hovered over her, a bit of concern behind their eyes.

"What happened?"

"You were out for a while."

She pushed herself up and instantly wished she hadn't. Her head was pounding and the quick motion sent it swimming. She put a hand to her head and took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

"Sorry," she finally mustered.

"We all had a harder time getting up," Sasuke stated.

Sakura nodded, still not convinced. She hated thinking that they were waiting for her. She hated feeling like she was the weak one again.

"What now," Naruto asked, looking around.

Sakura followed his gaze and tried to control her heart beat again. The hospital, once a center of life and healing, had completely twisted itself in the other world. Blood trails ran along the wall, the distinct five lines of finger marks visible in them. The lights were on but flickered constantly like lightning. The seats in the waiting room had been pulled up and stacked to a side as if to say there was no reason to wait for treatment here.

"We need to find Hinata," Sasuke replied. "The beast will find us."

Naruto nodded. "It's a big place. How are we going to find her?"

"Her room," Sakura whispered. The other two stared at her. "It's obvious, isn't it? Her room was in the hospital. It's the room where she died. So she must be there now."

"It makes sense," Naruto responded, nodding as he did.

"Then we'll go there," Sasuke said. "We need to start collecting weapons. Check every room on the way up."

They nodded and walked towards the staircase. The waiting area remained quiet, a stark contrast the bustle that was there moment before. Sasuke reached the door first and gave it a yank, cursing as it held firm.

"There should be another staircase," Sakura whispered, "on the other side of the building."

"What about an elevator?" Naruto asked.

They looked at each other for a few moments before deciding against it. Somehow the thought of cramming into a small box and leaving themselves at the whims of this world's physics didn't seem like such a good idea.

"Where is the other staircase?" Sasuke asked.

"There's a map in the waiting area," Sakura replied. "I saw it when we walked in earlier."

"Then let's hope its still there."

Two minutes later, they stood in front of the shattered display case, trying to determine if the map was there. After a few moments of staring, Sasuke finished the glass off and pulled the paper free.

"Through the cafeteria and then up the flight of stairs," he stated, drawing a line on it with his finger.

"The kitchen might have something we can use," Sakura said hopefully.

"We'll stop there on the way."

The trip to the cafeteria was uneventful, almost too quiet considering their past experiences in this world. The door was unlocked, a rare treat and they barely hesitated before entering the room.

Perhaps the normalness of the room should have tipped them off. But in their hurry to get to the kitchen, the trio simply dove into the room and hurried through it. The ranks of chairs were still as they ran down the center of the room instead it was the tables that suddenly began to scrap across the floor.

Two slammed together in front of Sasuke just as he neared the end. It completely blocked the exit but he wasn't willing to stop. He jumped up and tried to step over them but one of the tables shifted quickly throwing him back several feet into the sea of chairs.

"Sasuke-k…" Sakura didn't get a chance to finish as the table that had thrown Sasuke came towards her and hit her in the midsection. It pushed her into a neighbor and the two pinned her while Naruto ran forward.

"Let her go!" he screamed, as if the inanimate objects could understand him. When there was no response, he grabbed the edge and tried to pull it away form her, ignoring the pain as his wounds pulled open.

Sasuke got up slowly and pushed himself free of the chairs. He turned just in time to see Naruto struggling to free Sakura. He took a few steps forward but came to an abrupt halt as the loud yowl filled the room.

It had found them.

"Run!" Sakura cried. "Find Hinata before it does."

Sasuke ignored her and stepped next to her, wedging himself in the small gap between the two tables.

"Naruto pull, I PUSH."

With the effort of two people, the tables finally gave way and Sasuke grabbed Sakura's arm, yanking her out with him from the tables. Naruto stumbled forward a bit but didn't wait too long to follow his friends out of the tables' aim.

As they reached the other side, the tables had completely cornered them and they were forced to forget about their side trip to the kitchen. Sasuke put his hand on the door knob and turned, letting a bit of relief show in his face as it opened.

They charged up the stairs, taking two steps at a time as they tried to outrun the beast that was hunting them. The floor came up soon enough and they pushed on the door.

"DAMNIT!" Naruto yelled, kicking at the door furiously as it refused to open. "What the fuck is wrong with this place."

"Everything," Sakura said wrapping her arms around her chest. "We should go up a floor and try to get down through the ducts again."

"Is that safe?" Sasuke asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing is."

"This is safe," Naruto stated, looking around. "Nothing's in here but us."

"He's right," Sasuke added. "Sakura stay in the staircase. We'll go up and find a way down."

"What?"

"Sasuke has a good idea," Naruto agreed. "We'll come around and open the door."

She wanted to protest but she couldn't get past the old mantra. She was slowing them down. They had already lost precious minutes in the cafeteria and by waiting for her to wake up.

"Go," she whispered. And they took off. She listened to their echoing footsteps. She closed her eyes when it stopped, half wishing to hear Naruto's voice cursing again. But all that answered her was a squeaking door that eventually slammed shut.

She slid to the ground, wrapping her arms around her legs and shutting her eyes. No, she couldn't feel useless again. Sasuke had made a strategic decision. The beast was closing in fast on them and they needed to secure Hinata.

She looked up the empty staircase and frowned. It was safe, that was for sure. And Sasuke had told her to stay in the staircase… just not where.

With a renewed vigor, she quickly ran down the stairs, passing by the door to the cafeteria without bothering to look inside. She wanted to see where the stairs led to because in her experience, hospitals usually used basements for storage.

Or morgues.

She was really hoping against the latter case.

She landed on the bottom floor and crouched in a shadow. She waited a few minutes to see if anyone showed up but the coast was clear. With cat like steps she crossed the hallway and eyed all of the doors. She tried to open a few of the storage closets and was not too surprised to find them locked. It annoyed her but at least she had tried.

She moved back towards the steps, not eager to stretch her teammates' patience if they came through the door before she got back. She was ready to charge up the stairs when she saw the tell tale double door. The temperature dropped several degrees and she found herself moving towards the morgue.

The doors swung open easily enough but the room was pitch-black. She hesitated for a moment but took a step forward, running her hand along the wall to find a switch.

"Sakura…"

Sakura paused. "Hinata?" she asked softly.

"Sakura… please…"

Three steps in and she was in complete darkness, the doors behind her having closed. There was no going back now. The ceiling began to dip down and eventually she had to crouch to move forward.

She could hear Hinata's voice still but it was getting weaker. It wasn't until Sakura was on her stomach trying to slither forward that she finally understood what the other girl was saying.

"Please… don't come in…"

Sasuke didn't look back once as they traversed the hallway. He and Naruto had already fallen into a pattern that worked well. Stop at a door, open it, check it for possible weapons, move on.

"Got one!" Naruto cried, pulling an IV stand out with him.

"Me too," Sasuke replied. That brought their total to nine, one more then they needed. Sasuke shifted the poles in his hand, letting the soft ring of metal fill the empty hallways. It had been easy to get this far, almost too easy. It was as if some silent foe was taunting them, drawing them further into the floor. It felt like a trap, Sasuke just didn't know how it would be sprung.

"Sasuke…"

Sasuke stopped and looked at where Naruto was. The door was open and the other boy was just staring into the darkness. As Sasuke was about to tell the idiot to start moving, Naruto jumped forward.

Sasuke cursed and reversed his direction, running towards the door. Idiot! Who just jumps into a room in this world like that? He came to a halt at the same place Naruto had been.

The room was completely dark. There was nothing to see. So why had Naruto stopped?

"Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke's heart jumped at the familiar feminine voice. Sakura? But she was supposed to be downstairs. Suddenly Naruto's actions made sense. Without a second thought, Sasuke stepped into the darkness.

He fell at least a floor down and hit the grating hard. His fingers searched for solid ground to level himself but slipped through the holes of the chain link floor. When he finally found his footing, the floor underneath him started to dip into the darkness from his weight. He jumped to a nearby metal pole that ran from wall to wall and held up the metal netting. Once he had his balance, he looked over and was not surprised to see Naruto in the same situation.

"You heard her too right?" Naruto asked. "Hinata was in here."

Sasuke looked at him, not able to hide the growing frown. "It was Sakura."

Naruto summed it up perfectly. "Shit." It was a trap.

"Stay on the beams," Sasuke ordered. "The middle parts are too unstable."

Naruto was about to retort was a snide comment when the pole he was on sagged slightly. He looked down into the darkness with a frown. It was like every room on this floor had been replaced by this grid.

There was a moan, a despair filled cry that shook the metal beneath them. Naruto took a few steps back, trying to hold onto the four metal staffs he had. Sasuke balanced as the pole under his feet began to move as well.

They came out of the darkness, moving slowly and wearing grotesque remains of nurse's uniforms, down to the trademark hats. Each step weighed on the bars but for a moment it looked like they weren't too much of a threat.

"Are those… axes?" Naruto asked.

In response, one of the nurses raised hers up high and brought it down on the metal. The entire structure shook and it took all of their ninja skills to stay standing. One of the nurse creatures was not so lucky and fell down, tumbling into the metal net. It whined under her pressure.

"Son of a bitch!" Naruto yelled charging at the creature.

"NARUTO!" Sasuke yelled but it was too late. Using one of his new pole weapons, Naruto smashed the side of a nearby creature, sending her tumbling into the one that had already fallen.

The chain buckled under the combined weight of the two creatures and ripped away from the metal poles that held it. The two creatures fell into the darkness and Sasuke noticed that there was no sound of them ever hitting bottom.

Naruto was balanced on the grid precariously, three creatures limping towards him. Sasuke realized they weren't getting out of here without a fight. He moved quickly, wishing for the tiniest bit of chakra to steady himself.

An axe swung towards Naruto and he bent backwards so far that his head touched the beam. His hands still gripped the staffs tightly but he realized it was getting harder to keep balanced with them and the attacking nurses. For a moment he actually wished Sasuke was there to help him with the fight.

And as if to answer him, a large amount of weight planted itself on his stomach in the form of Sasuke's foot. Every last muscle went into not letting him collapse and Naruto strained to right himself just in time to see Sasuke taking out two of the creatures.

"OW!" Naruto yelled belatedly, watching as Sasuke cleared the third one.

His teammate glared at him for a moment before grabbing his arm and dragging him away.

"We're not fighting under these conditions," Sasuke stated.

"Che, what are you talking about? This is cake!"

The grid below him shuddered as more nurse creatures appeared. The axes were hitting down more now and the entire structure was whining under the effort. Sasuke directed them towards the nearest door, not surprised to find it was locked.

"We need to get out of here," he said simply and Naruto offered no argument. Sasuke laced his fingers into the chain wall and looked up into the shadows they had fallen from. "Up?" he asked.

Naruto shook his head. "Look, down that way. Do you see it?"

Sasuke struggled to follow Naruto gaze into the darkness. Beyond the grid was something that looked solid. "What is it?"

"Considering how much running we've been doing, I'd say it's the other staircase."

With their options running out, Sasuke was forced to follow Naruto as he ran towards the tower. As they got closer, Sasuke could make out a door. The poles they were running on vibrating horribly and occasionally they had to jump to a neighboring one to maintain their speed. He spared a glance over his shoulder and couldn't count the number of creatures that bobbed in and out of the dark.

"Yes!" Naruto exclaimed happily as the door opened under his grip. "Maybe I should open the door from now on," he smiled. Sasuke just pushed him through and slammed the door shut behind them.

"Up or down?" Naruto asked.

"Up. We need to get back to the floor we were on and double back to get Sakura. Obviously the second floor is not where we should be looking."

Naruto frowned but saw the logic in his comrade's words. He ran up first and grabbed the door knob before Sasuke, finding it locked shut.

"So much for your luck," Sasuke smirked.

"Yeah, thanks," Naruto replied, kicking the door. "So what now?"

"We go down."

"First floor is locked."

"Hospitals have basements," Sasuke replied. "They keep their supplies there."

"Eh?" Naruto asked. "How do you know?" An evil smile grew on his face. "Go down there with Sakura a few times?"

Sasuke's face didn't move. "It's where you go to identify bodies too," he said.

Naruto's face fell but before he had a chance to apologize, Sasuke was already running down the stairs. He followed behind, trying not to get dizzy as they followed the twisted steps down to the basement.

Sasuke had stopped in front of the door with a frown.

"Locked?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke waited a moment before answering. "You open it," he said. "Better luck today then me."

Naruto smiled and nodded, glad that the momentary idiocy on his part concerning morgues had not been held against him for long. He put his hand on the door knob and snatched it back.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"It's cold," Naruto replied. He reached out again and pulled the door open.

A cold, opaque wind moved into the stairwell, wrapping them up in a cloak of frigid air that sent chills down their backs. Naruto let out a breath and it turned into white clouds. Sasuke walked inside, trying to keep his breath steady as he moved into the room.

The basement didn't house a morgue, it was a morgue. The entire room was filled with row after row of slabs while closed drawers lined the walls. The slabs themselves were each decorated with a white sheet that covered something that looked vaguely human.

"Oh… hell no," Naruto said, taking in the scene.

"We need to get across and to the staircase," Sasuke added, suddenly feeling nervous. It was becoming clear that they shouldn't have left Sakura by herself.

"I'm not opposed to running," Naruto piped in, quickly falling into step behind his friend.

"I think we're in agreement on…"

Sasuke trailed off. Naruto began to ask why but Sasuke hushed him quickly. He looked around the room as he waited. A second later he heard it. Pounding from the right wall. He exchanged a glance with Naruto and they slowly moved towards the noise.

As they got closer, it was obvious which drawer was the source of the noise. On the door, written in barely legible script was the name of the occupant.

"Shit," Naruto said, just as Sasuke threw open the drawer and pulled out the slab.

Sakura sat up quickly, wrapping her hands around her body as her eyes wildly looked around. Her lips were tinged blue and kept moving as she tried to say something. Naruto reached forward and put his hand on her arm.

"Sakura-chan?" he asked.

The voice seemed to break her from her panic. Instantly she locked onto Naruto. "She's here… Hinata's here," she cried before burrowing herself into Naruto's shoulder. Naruto patted her on the head while he shared a glance with Sasuke.

"Of course," he said. "In the end, this is where she would have ended up."

"But where?" Naruto asked, still trying to keep his female roommate warm.

Sasuke looked at all the slabs. Cautiously he stepped forward and pulled the sheet off one of them. He jumped back to prepare for a fight but all that lay on the slab was a mangled mannequin.

"Stay with Sakura," he ordered as he moved from each slab, pulling off the sheets.

"No wait," Sakura called out, pushing herself away from Naruto. "I'm fine… I'll help." Before he could protest, she walked forward and pulled a sheet herself. "Naruto, check the drawers for her name."

Naruto nodded dumbly and turned back to the wall. His sleeves stuck to his skin from her tears but he pretended not to notice how it chilled him. He read through the names slowly, finding most were easy to read and decipher.

"Yamanaka Ino," he whispered. He looked over his shoulder at Sakura and pondered if he should bring it up. Instead he turned back to the wall and continued to read.

I know all these names, he realized. Every one of them. Umino Iruka. Uchiha Itachi. They were all here, stored and organized in tiny boxes.

"Hyuuga Hinata," he read out loud. "Hinata! She's here!"

Sasuke and Sakura ran over quickly. "Open it," Sakura cried.

"I can't! It's stuck… Sasuke, hand me one of the poles."

Sasuke nodded and picked one off the ground from where they had freed Sakura. He tossed it to Naruto who in turn wedged it under the handle. He pulled back with all his weight and the handle whined before finally releasing. Sakura reached inside and pulled out the slab the moment the drawer was open.

There she was, eyes closed and still wearing the white hospital gown. Her hands were crossed over her chest but there was no movement there. The trio stared in silence before Naruto leaned down.

"Hinata?"

Her eyes shot open and she sat up quickly. For a moment she panicked and tried to get back into the drawer but they grabbed her and pulled her off the slab.

"It's okay," Sakura said, trying to be reassuring.

But Hinata shook her head fervently. "No, no its not. I told you not to come… I begged you."

"We had to come," Naruto stated. "We had to save you."

She shook her head. "You're too late." She looked over his shoulder, eyes losing all signs of life in them. "He's here."

The trio turned around quickly, just in time to see the Tsunade creature melt into the familiar form of the beast. It howled at them, two of the appendages coming out instantly and knocking over several slabs.

"Get outside!" Sasuke yelled. "We can't fight it here!"

They bolted, Naruto taking a minute to grab Hinata. She melted in his arms, dipping to the floor so he resorted to carrying her away as they ran. Sasuke threw two poles at Sakura and she caught them easily.

The beast became a blur as it slid quickly through the room, pushing gurneys to the side as it did. As the group reached the door, it threw a third arm to block their escape. Sasuke cursed but used one of his poles and pierced the skin. Sakura ran forward and helped him, threading the metal through the door handles and locking it in place.

Behind them, Naruto was having difficulty juggling Hinata and his weapons. "Sasuke! Catch!" he yelled, tossing the limp body at him. He turned quickly and brought one of his staffs forward, following the same technique as Sasuke. When the appendage had struck, he pushed the pole through a handle on a morgue drawer.

"That's TWO!"

"Fight it here!" Sasuke ordered dodging a limb as it shot towards him. It was a difficult situation but they were trained to fight under worse conditions. At least that's what he kept telling himself.

But indeed, the team did their job. Naruto managed to get two limbs tangled in a mess of slabs and used two poles to lock it in place. Sakura's brute strength was impressive as she continuously pierced the skin of the creature while pinning it to the floor. Sasuke spent the better part of his attacks protecting Hinata but managed to catch a limb in a drawer all the same.

"That's six!" He yelled. "Regroup!"

Sakura and Naruto doubled back, realizing that there was a small reprieve. Each took a final staff and eyed the creature as it howled. Two new limbs tore through the skin, stretching and unraveling towards them.

"We just need to pin the last two and then kill it while it's trapped," Sasuke stated. "Naruto stay with Hinata and rest. I'll try to get the other two arms. Sakura… you're the only one with the strength to run it through."

She nodded firmly. "I got it. Just distract it for a bit."

The beast roared and charged, renewed by the fact that it had two more limbs to use as weapons. The ones that were trapped pulled against their bonds, causing the roof to shake and debris to begin raining onto them.

"Hurry!" Naruto called, attempting to protect Hinata from the falling ceiling tiles.

The beast thrashed about, angered by the fact that its attacks were limited. The remaining two shot forward, desperate to find a target. Sasuke dove under one and spun around quickly, spearing one of the arms as he came to a stop. The pole flew free before he was able to lodge it somewhere and followed the arm's course as it progressed towards Naruto.

Naruto reacted without hesitation. He grabbed the pole and pushed against it, holding the appendage at bay. He caught Sasuke's eye and yelled at him to get the other one.

Sasuke nodded briefly before traversing the maze of turned over slabs. The last limb was trying to pull free one of the pinned ones. Sasuke charged it and slammed the spear into it. But the thing would not relent in its attempts to get free. He had to use all his weight to keep it caught.

"Sakura… NOW!"

She ran forward, a clear line from her to the beast. The spear was firmly gripped in her hands. A clear shot, it would be cake. And then the nightmare would be over.

All her strength went into the strike, ever last bit of energy she had. The spear lanced forward and there was a sickening noise.

Blood began to drip to the floor.

The metal pole fell from her hand and clattered on the floor, unused, unbloodied.

"Sakura!" Sasuke screamed.

Naruto turned just time to see the beast howl in victory. It wasn't possible, they had won, they had to have won.

She slumped forward and tried to regain her footing. Her legs were like jelly and she dropped to the ground, whispering as she did.

"There were nine."

Naruto screamed first, in pure rage as the beast glared at him. The nine limbs slowly migrated to the small of its back and it landed on all fours. The Kyuubi reared its head and howled in victory, the broken body of its prey at its feet.

The noise pushed into their minds and brought them to their knees. Hinata was screaming, holding her arms around her head. Naruto was still yelling, trying to reach the creature even as the world change brought him to the ground.

Sasuke never moved, he just stared at the body at the beast's feet, letting the familiar hum fill his senses. And just before he passed out, he could make out Sakura's last words.

"I can't hear the noise…"


	9. Carnival

**Carnival**

"Sakura…"

It was bright out, so much so that his eyes took a while to adjust. He tried to remain calm but all he could see was her body at the beast's feet. He needed to know, he needed to see.

In the fog of his vision was a girl twirling, dancing in the sunlight. A few minutes later, her dark hair became clear. Sasuke couldn't turn away after that. He just watched Hinata dance in the sun, the sickening feeling in his stomach deepening.

"She's not here," Naruto said. Sasuke turned his head and saw the blond haired boy sitting next to him on the bench. "I waited because I thought maybe she was just somewhere else. But…"

Sasuke stood up and looked around, staring across the campus of the hospital, looking for the familiar pink hair in the sea of lab coats and hospital gowns. "Where is she?"

"I said she's not here," Naruto replied.

"She has to be here. She can't just… disappear."

Naruto leaned forward and looked out into the field. "She didn't. Hinata… Hinata just replaced her here."

Sasuke looked out into the field again. He knew, somewhere in the back of his mind where the memory of her last words resided. He just didn't want to believe it. He sank into the seat next to Naruto. They sat in silence for a while, both watching Hinata dance in the sunlight.

"What now?" Sasuke asked.

"I… don't know," Naruto replied.

"You do. We have to go back. If anything, we have to trade her for Sakura."

Naruto blinked and looked at him. "What?"

Sasuke glared back. "Hinata's not real, Naruto, Sakura is."

"How do you know?" Naruto demanded. "Hinata is just as alive now as Sakura was."

"Because that's not the Hinata we know," Sasuke said. "Just like no one here is who we really know. Except the three of us."

Naruto paused and watched her raise her hands to the sun. "I don't know what to do," he whispered. "I… don't think we can defeat it." He paused. "How does she do it?"

"Who?" Sasuke asked.

"Tsunade-baachan," he replied. "I know we can't survive a fight, I know if anything we'll either lose Sakura or Hinata but… I know we still have to try." He stared at Hinata for a while. "How do you send people out knowing they're not coming back?"

Sasuke didn't reply because he knew there was nothing to say. It was a fact. Their Hokage had to make decisions like this all the time. And Naruto, whose dream it had always been to be Hokage, was just realizing that.

Naruto stood up. "We have to do it," he resolved. "We have to go back."

The sky darkened and Hinata stopped moving. A rumble of thunder echoed in the distance and the wind picked up, catching the thin hospital gown as it passed by. She looked up and saw Naruto approaching her. She smiled slightly.

"This is what I wanted," Hinata said.

"I know," he replied.

"I'm free," she sang and looked up at the sky. "But… I can't stay can I?"

"I'm sorry," Naruto whispered, looking at the ground.

She put a hand to his cheek and forced him to look up. "Some of us go through our lives knowing what we want and never getting it. I got the chance, even for a little while, to know what it was like. And that's enough… it will be enough."

She looked over his shoulder at Sasuke, letting her hand drop from Naruto's face. "He's coming," she whispered. "You've stretched the reality too much and he's coming."

The thunder boomed and slowly morphed into the yell of the beast. Sasuke looked behind him and watched the storm clouds slowly eating up the landscape. The dark sky slowly.

"The world is collapsing," Hinata said. "We don't have much time. We have to bring him to us before he devours everything."

"How?" Sasuke asked.

"I know how," Naruto replied. He looked away from the hospital in the direction of the high school. "The school. There's someone there who will be shocked to see her alive – her cousin."

"What's to say that she's still dead in this world?" Sasuke asked. "Things have changed before."

"Except for the people who come back from the nightmare," Naruto replied. "We're always the same. It's a stretch but… short of punching everyone we come across…" There was a long pause before Sasuke nodded in acknowledgement of the plan.

"Then we need to hurry," Hinata whispered.

Naruto took her hand and the three of them ran. The hospital behind them cracked and started to collapse. A mix of thunder and the beast's yell filled the air. Naruto didn't bother to look back any more.

They ran down the streets, passing by the mall with the stunned shoppers who were looking up at the sky. Passing by the empty apartment building where Sasuke had found his brother. Passing by the house that was identical to Sakura's real one.

The high school came up quickly after that but it was different. Banners and balloons lined the roads around it. Merry music filtered towards them. A large Ferris wheel and a few roller coasters dotted the landscape.

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked.

"It's a carnival," Hinata smiled. "They used to have them all the time."

Naruto looked around frantically, scanning the sea of people for the person he needed. "We'll never find him here." He looked at the Ferris wheel with a firm nod. "Sasuke, stay here. I'll go up to the top and look for him."

He started to move towards the ride when he felt a tug on his shirt. He looked behind him and caught Hinata's blank eyes staring at him. "Can I come?" she asked. "Just one ride… it can't hurt. I'll help you look."

He nodded and took her hand. The line was fairly short but it was hard to be patient when they knew what was coming. He almost dove into the small carriage when it stopped for them. Hinata sat across from him, folding her arms across her legs. The ride started up and paused occasionally to switch riders. Naruto gripped the cage to look out but he still wasn't high enough.

After a few minutes, the ride started up in earnest. A cheery electronic tune came through the speakers in the carriage and the wheel slowly pushed them towards the sky. Naruto's eyes flittered about, desperately searching.

"There," he whispered. "SASUKE!" he yelled, catching his teammate's attention. "Northwest by the cotton candy machine!" Naruto continued as the carriage swung by him.

Sasuke nodded and took off, dodging people in the crowd as he ran towards Neji. Naruto watched him as the wheel turned around again. He saw Sasuke point towards the Ferris wheel and smiled as soon as Neji started following him.

"Just a few more minutes then," Hinata whispered.

Naruto's smile fell. "I didn't think…"

"Look," she said, pointing through a few links in the cage.

Naruto looked to where she was motioning to and stood up slowly in the cage. All around them, the red storm had eaten away the landscape. A darkness extended beyond the fringes of the carnival. The pavement dropped off suddenly but no one else seemed to notice.

"When we get off the ride," Hinata whispered, "Sakura-san will appear here again. You have to find her before he does."

"We will… but… what about you?"

She smiled. "I'll be fine."

The door to the carriage opened and Hinata stepped out before Naruto could say anything more. She bounded down the stairs to where Sasuke was arguing with Neji.

"Neji-niisan."

The world seemed to slow as Neji turned around. Hinata walked forward, even as he stared at her in disbelief. Slowly, she raised her arms and hugged him. The noise started, deafening almost immediately. Naruto was still half in the Ferris wheel as it overtook him. Sasuke was on the ground in a second. But Hinata stood firm, arms wrapped around Neji even as the darkness overtook them.

It felt like only a second passed before Naruto opened his eyes. He looked around, freeing himself of the Ferris wheel carriage. He glanced upwards and saw that half of the wheel was missing. The rest of it was rusting and getting ready to fall apart.

"Naruto." He looked down and watched Sasuke finish dusting himself off.

"That change was fast," Naruto stated.

"Yeah," Sasuke replied. "The other world was almost engulfed by the time we forced the switch."

Naruto nodded and looked around. "Hinata…" But the girl wasn't there. In fact, no one was. The entire carnival was deserted.

The sky above them was dark, not a single star was visible in the false night sky. The lights of the carnival flickered and offered minimal light. There was no wind, no movement of air, no more music in the background.

"We should start looking for Sakura," Naruto said, breaking the silence.

"Agreed."

They walked through the empty rows of games. A pole used to bring down the stuffed animals leaned against the side of one booth. But when Naruto touched it, it crumbled into dust. In fact, anything they touched would disintegrate in their hands.

"There's nothing we can use as weapons," Naruto said, leaning next to a pile of dust.

"True, but… there's no sign of Kyuubi."

Naruto nodded slowly. It was eerie to be in the nightmare and not have the constant signs of the beast… of Kyuubi surrounding them.

"SAKURA!" Naruto called out suddenly.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke hissed.

"Like you said Kyuubi isn't here yet," Naruto replied, preparing to call out again. "SA…"

Sasuke covered his mouth in an instant. "Kyuubi isn't here… YET. If you keep calling out like that then he'll…"

Sasuke trailed off and let his hand drop. Naruto blinked a few times in confusion before turning around to see where Sasuke was staring.

A little girl in a pink yukata stared at them, holding a red balloon in one hand. Her pink hair was up in pig tails and her green eyes glittered in amusement.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered.

The little girl giggled and took off. Naruto and Sasuke didn't wait a second before taking off after her. She turned a corner and by the time they got there, she was gone. They looked around frantically before hearing another giggle behind them. She ran as soon as they saw her.

The chase continued through the carnival, the young version of Sakura always eluding them at the last second. It continued like this for a several minutes before Sasuke and Naruto came up with a makeshift plan.

Sakura stood in front of a mirror maze as Sasuke came around a fish catching booth. She looked at him with a smile as he walked slowly towards her. She tilted her head to the side, as if to ask where Naruto was. A moment later, Naruto appeared to her right, cutting off her route of escape.

Trapped, the young Sakura made a break for it but Sasuke caught her before she could get away. She squirmed in his hands and let the red balloon go. Her head twisted sharply as she watched it ascend into the sky, little hand reaching for it.

Naruto reached them just as the balloon was out of reach. Sakura started to cry as it made its was to the sky. Halfway to the darkness above, it popped. But the sound wasn't normal, it was a growl.

The remains of the balloon slowly floated to the ground, twisted and turning in a non-existent wind. It grew, slowly morphing into the shape of Kyuubi. Sakura squirmed free and bolted into the mirror maze. Kyuubi landed on the ground and stared at the remaining two members of Team 7 before it let out a ferocious growl.

"The maze," Sasuke said, grabbing Naruto's arm and heading after Sakura. Kyuubi charged them, teeth snapping at them as they dove inside.

"Shit!" Naruto yelled, looking around. "We lost her."

"Look," Sasuke replied, pointing to the reflection of Sakura dancing across the maze.

"Sakura! Just stay still," Naruto cried.

"I always stay still," her voice answered.

Sasuke searched for the source of the voice but only saw her young form running to the left. He motioned to Naruto and they started to move in the same direction as she was. Arms outstretched, they attempted to tell the difference between glass and mirror.

"I never move," she continued. Sasuke looked to his left and caught his reflection, the twelve year old version of Sakura standing behind him. "I'm always here." He turned away and was met with empty space.

"I'm always two steps behind you."

"That's not true, Sakura," Naruto called out. "You're just as strong as us, just in different ways."

"Maybe," she replied. "I did figure out what this place is."

"Tell us Sakura," Sasuke said, walking down a corridor of mirrors, Naruto close behind him. He took a dozen steps forward before he came to a dead end. He turned to Naruto and they attempted to backtrack only to find that the other way was blocked now as well.

"This is our perfect world," the voice said.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto said. "This place is a nightmare!"

"No… it's not. Naruto," Sakura began, "in this world you were popular." The mirror to his right reflected a group of people behind him, all the people from his school smiling at him. "Everyone acknowledged you. And you even got to be the hero again." The mirror to his left reflected his image was a smiling Hinata next to him. "You know what it is to be Hokage now." Hinata held up an arm before being engulfed in darkness. "This is what you wanted."

He didn't say anything. Sasuke frowned and glared at the mirrors around him.

"Sasuke-kun… in this world, he never betrayed you," Sakura continued. The mirror next to him reflected a smiling Itachi. "He was the brother you wanted when you were younger." The mirror to his right reflected the image of a younger version of Sasuke getting a piggy back ride from his older brother. "You say you wanted revenge," she continued and the older version on Itachi lay on the ground broken and bleeding. "But what you really wanted was…" The damage on Itachi disappeared and he was smiling again, ruffling the hair of his younger brother as their parents walked in carrying dinner.

"And what about you!" Naruto yelled. "This world, both versions has been hell for you!"

"Yes," Sakura answered. "But that's how what I wanted was interpreted."

"Why? Why would you want this!" Naruto yelled.

"All I've wanted…" she began.

The mirrors began to reflect images from the past few days. Sakura looking lost in class as the words on the book made no sense. Ino, her best friend, kissing Sasuke. The rest of the people ignoring her. Her returning to her empty house. The cold altar there with her parents' pictures on it.

"All I've ever wanted," she continued. "Was to be like you."

The images switched suddenly. Naruto sat in class, looking confused at the scrolls in front of him. Sakura was chasing after Sasuke as Naruto looked on. Naruto on the swing alone. Sasuke walking into the compound alone. Sasuke laying the incense on his parents' altar.

They faded after a second and a roar shook the glass. Naruto and Sasuke looked behind them and watched the glass crumble as the Kyuubi began to devour the maze.

"Naruto. Sasuke-kun."

They turned and she was there, back to her normal age. Sasuke reached out to grab her but there was glass between them. She put a hand onto the glass and looked at them with tears in her eyes.

Naruto shoved past Sasuke and began to shoulder the glass with a frantic speed, heightened by the fear of the monster approaching. Sasuke helped, the two of them pounding on the glass in a steady rhythm. It cracked and Sakura took a step back as it shattered.

The world shattered too just as they grabbed either of her hands. They fell into the darkness, the roar of Kyuubi distant now. They fell together, the group of three, never letting go until they reached the end of oblivion.


	10. Conclusion

**Conclusion**

"Kakashi-san!"

The older jounin blinked and looked up from his reading. The medic nin there looked frantic. It was enough for him to close his book.

"There is a problem," the medic nin reported.

He stood up and pocketed the book, forcing his steps to be even and calm as he walked down the hall. Halfway there, he paused to let the Hokage step in front of him.

"What happened?" she asked him.

"They didn't tell me, Hokage-sama."

They arrived at the large monitoring room after a few more moments. Television screens displayed the images of at least two dozen shinobi, lying asleep on beds. It was the middle three screens that concerned Kakashi the most.

His three students twitched violently, like they were in the middle of a nightmare. They were bruised and slightly bleeding. A few more cuts appeared on their faces as Tsunade watched,

"What's going on?" she demanded.

"We don't know," the medic nin replied. "No one else is having these types of problems with the genjutsu."

"They are having physical reactions to it," Tsunade barked. "Bring them out of it."

"The Dokage is on his way. He'll break it immediately."

"This is exactly why I was nervous about them taking Jounin exam outside of Konoha," Tsunade told Kakashi.

"They were ready," Kakashi replied.

"I'm sure they were. It was Hidden Rock I was more worried about."

"The Dokage has arrived."

Tsunade and Kakashi turned their attention back to the screen. The older man pushed open the door and walked towards the center of the room where a scroll on a stand glowed fiercely. He performed a few hand symbols and placed his hands over the scroll. A second later, he robe caught fire and he stumbled backwards.

"Fire?" Kakashi asked.

"Kyuubi," was Tsunade's only response.

Sakura's body lifted violently and a large red splotch appeared on the front of her shirt. The monitoring staff began to panic but by then, Tsunade was gone, running towards the room where they were.

A few assistants were helping the Dokage out of his singed robe. Tsunade bowed to him quickly before continuing. "We need to try again, this time together."

He nodded and listed the hand symbols needed as they walked inside. The two Kages performed in synchronous movements. The scrolls shuddered a bit and then erupted into flames. As the assistants put out the flames, Kakashi walked over to Sakura just as Tsunade finished closing up the wound.

"Kakashi-sensei?" He turned around and watched Naruto sitting up from the bed. "What's going on?"

Sakura nodded once, clutching the blanket of her hospital bed. "So I was right."

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "The genjutsu was supposed to create our 'perfect' world… only Kyuubi interfered… I'm sorry."

Sakura smiled a bit. "No worries, shishou patched me up just fine."

"Why?" Sasuke asked, looking over at Kakashi. "Why was it part of the jounin exam?"

Kakashi took a moment before continuing. "A decade ago, the Jounin exam was restructured to test more then just the physical and mental abilities of the applicants. Emotions and desires are just as important. Those who craved power were not always the best choices for a village's jounin."

"How come?" Naruto asked.

"Because as Jounin, you will have access to almost every jutsu that a village knows. Some people in the past have used this to their own advantage rather then to serve their village. It became important to know that people could resist the temptation to do that by putting their duty as a ninja above it."

"So you use the genjutsu to create a perfect world," Sakura continued. "And if they can break out of it, then their will to be a ninja is stronger then their desire for their own personal happiness."

"Exactly," he said, patting her on the head. "Of course, the genjutsu is supposed to be a bit more pleasant then what you experienced. " He stood up. "Well, I need to go file paperwork. Rest up. Still have a few more days of testing to go."

He waved as he left through the door. The remaining trio sat in silence as the weight of what Kakashi said sank in.

"Hey, at least we passed," Naruto smiled, breaking the silence. "I think some celebratory ramen is in order!"

Sakura returned his smile. "I think I'm confined to bed rest."

"We'll bring you back some, right Sasuke?"

"I… think I'll stay here for a while."

Naruto look at him for a moment before shrugging and walking out the door, saying something about more for him. Sakura laughed a bit, glad to see that Naruto was already back to normal. She couldn't say the same about herself though.

"Sasuke-kun?" she asked, wondering exactly why he had stuck around.

He didn't say a word. Instead, he reached down and pulled open the bag at his feet, pulling out a plate and an apple. Then he sat in silence and slowly began peeling it. She smiled a bit and leaned onto the pillows, just watching him.

Maybe back to normal wasn't what either of them wanted anymore.

The second Naruto cleared the room his smile faded. Normal was not what he felt. His mind was still clouded with the emotions of living part of what Hokage goes through. He thought about going to find her but at the moment he didn't want a lecture. He really did just want to go back to normal.

He heard some laughter as he walked through the glass doors. He found Hinata with her two teammates. Kiba was having Akamaru perform a few tricks and Hinata appeared to be enjoying it. She turned and caught his eye, the smile still on her face.

She was alive, laughing and smiling at him. He smiled back at her.

"Hey! Fox boy," Kiba called. "We're going out for ramen. Wanna come?"

He just looked at her until a blush crept over her cheeks. He broke the stare and look over at Kiba.

"Only if you're paying, Dog Breath!"

He jogged over to them and fell in step next to Hinata. She looked up at him with a smile.

"How was your test?" she asked softly.

He looked at her for a moment before smiling. "Learned a few things, had a few good fights. It could have gone better. But… it's over."


End file.
